Aaron's first bath!

Last weekend, when Don and Jen were visiting us we decided that it was time for Aaron to have his first bath.

We set the tub up so that Aaron could be in the baby bath on one side of the tub and Peter could be in the other, with the toys between as a barrier so that Peter would keep his baby attacks to a minimum.

This method worked great, and Aaron did a good job (regardless of peeing on himself). After a few minutes he did start crying so we got him out to put on his PJs, but we plan to have bath time as a family on a regular basis from now on.

After Peter finished up with his bath Uncle Don dried him off and read him some good night stories before bed.

It was exciting having Uncle Don and Aunt Jen get to spend time with the kids and especially have them enjoy a "first" for Aaron.

Tough Morning...

I am going to start off by saying - I LOVE MY LIFE!

However, it isn't always so easy...

This morning I got Aaron up at 8am to feed him, 5 minutes into his feeding Peter woke up (25 minutes early) screaming and crying. This continued through Aaron's entire feeding.

As soon as I was finished with Aaron I put him in his chair and got Peter up. That is when Aaron started screaming.

I get down stairs and "plug" Aaron up with a pasifier, but just as I am feeding Peter his bottle our cat, Angel Food Cake (who is mad that I don't let her outside anymore), walks over and pees on the carpet.

When I am done feeding Peter his bottle I put him in his high chair while I make breakfast and clean up the cat pee. Then the lights go out.

It kind of went on like that for the whole first hour and a half of our day... guess things can only get better!

Post-Wedding Brunch

The morning after Matt and Nora's wedding, everyone got up for one last meal together before the couple bid us farewell and left for their honeymoon in the Caribbean.

The kids came along and got to meet some of their cousins, aunts, and uncles and the meal was delicious.

We didn't get many pictures, but I did catch the bride and groom as they left in an antique get away car to the airport.

Matt and Nora tie the knot!

This past weekend, Brett and I attended his cousin Nora's wedding to long time boyfriend, Matt Kirkland. The ceremony and bride were absolutely beautiful, and despite the threat of a little rain we were able to enjoy the cocktail reception outside.

Once we were asked to move inside for the first dance and the dinner portion of the reception we found that Matt and Nora had gone all out to make their big day full of things they loved in creative ways.

The cake was a tower of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts:

Tables were named with their favorite movies, instead of numbers (we got to sit at the Swingers Table):

And the wine selection even sported the bride's name:

After the bride and groom had their first dance:

We caught up with family:

Enjoyed listening to toasts:

Ate too many doughnuts:

And danced the night away to an 80s Band from North Carolina!


It was a great night, and we especially enjoyed seeing family that we don't get to see much of... plus it was nice to have a night away from the babies (thanks Mom!).

All the best to Matt and Nora!

An eye for an eye infection

Saturday morning during Aaron's second feeding I noticed a yellow puss coming from Aaron's right eye. At that moment I had my first real mom-freak out (other than of course when Aaron was in the NICU), not knowing what was wrong and panicking to talk/go to a doctor.

Within the hour we had left messages for the pediatrician and were on the way to the Emergency Room. After a short wait (during which the pediatrician called to tell me she thought he had a clogged tear duct), we finally got in to see the ER doctor.

Turns out our pediatrician was right. Just a clogged (and slightly infected) tear duct... probably caused by tiny fingers (belonging to Peter) touching Aaron's eyes. A few warm compresses and some antibiotic ointment later and Aaron was good as new.

Turns out I can be a nervous mom in the right situation... and also I probably need to watch Peter's grubby little hands a little better when he is near baby Aaron!

Visit to Daddy's Office!

Last Friday, Brett's brother, Don and our sister-in-law, Jen, flew in to visit for the weekend. After spending the day with Peter, Aaron, and me we drove up to Rockville to show Don and Jen Brett's new office.

After a brief visit meeting co-workers and showing off baby Aaron, we all headed down to the square in between all the buildings to have a snack and relax before getting back in the car.

Peter enjoyed some French fries from Five Guys, tasted his first peanut, and then wanted to play in the water fountain. We tried to keep him dry, but it was a worthless effort.

After about 30 minutes splashing with Daddy and Uncle Don we finally called it a night. We put our wet baby into his car seat and bundled him with a blanket for the drive home. Too bad Daddy's office isn't closer or we were be there to play all the time!

Peter talks... to himself!

At Peter's birthday party a few weeks ago he was enjoying all the attention and decided to "ham it up" and entertain all his guests with a 5 minute long monolog. Brett got the video camera out about half way into it and caught the second half of Peter's preformance.

The other day my sister and I pulled the video up on my computer to watch it and laugh again, and Peter's own voice caught his attention. He crawled over to the computer desk, stood up and started mimicking himself and laughing at the video of himself.

Here is the origional video:

Looking for furniture donations!

My friend, Heather, is working on some stuff for our church, New Life, and asked for my help in getting some donations.

She is trying to find specific items for donation and we were hoping that some of my readers might have donations or places to find the items we need.

We are looking for living room type stuff:

*Rugs
*Floor lamps
*Living room chairs
*A bar table
*Two stools

We are checking with Freecycle and Craigs List, but if you know anyone who might want to donate some things or have the items yourself please let me know!

These items will be used for our new ReNew service as the stage set.

My Wii Fit is here!!!

As a baby gift my Aunt Marilyn wanted to get Brett and I the Wii Fit. Unfortunatly, it was sold out everywhere! So, she sent my cousin Debbie to search. Finally, Debbie walked into a store 2 weeks ago and there were 2 Wii Fits sitting behind the counter! After fighting for them, she walked out with both and mailed one to me! This morning the FedEx guy delivered it, and my sister and I played during the kids entire 2 hour morning nap.

Here are my Day 1 stats:
BMI - 24.98

Weight - 159.2

Fit age - 33

The lowest they would allow me to go for my goal for the next 3 months was:
BMI - 21.52

Weight - 137.1

Fit Age - 26 (or lower)

I am excited for such a fun way to work out and will updating with progress!

Dj Peter Dance-a-lot

Brett and I never buy toys for our kids. We don't need to! They are completely spoiled by family and friends, not to mention hand me downs and items from our own childhood.

However, for Peter's birthday we did want to get him something from Mommy and Daddy. After much thought and looking through the selection at Target and Babies-R-Us, we decided on a music table.

The table is about a foot and a half off the ground and is topped with all kinds of buttons and levers to push pull, etc. to make music, songs, and a lot of noise. Peter couldn't be happier!

75% of his days now are spent standing at the table, activating the music, and dancing (i.e. swaying back and forth), then laughing and doing it all over again. In the past 2 weeks we have had to change the batteries TWICE!

I am pretty sure this was a good present choice, and Brett is hoping this means Peter with be into music like he is.

Renew Band plays Haymarket!

Last weekend, the band that Brett plays the drums in (The ReNew Band) played at the New Life campus in Haymarket.

This was Brett's and my first time at Haymarket so we were excited to meet a some new faces and hear a preacher we had never heard before. The Haymarket campus pastor, Chad, did a sermon titles "Love your children" which included a great story about "poop brownies" which I am excited to use as a teaching tool for my kids one day (I will try to put a post about the story later).

The band also did an amazing job, despite having to change their set a little the morning of. They sang some of the songs they played at their appearance in Centreville in July, and including the John Mayer song, Daughters, to tie into the theme of the sermon.

I believe this performance will be the band's last morning performance, as they will exclusively be playing on Sunday evenings now during the ReNew service at New Life's Centreville Campus.

ReNew service will be targeting young adults and will have services on the first Sunday of every month starting in September. If you are interested in more information please let me know!

Dinner with Nick and Leigh

Last week (I know I am behind), our friends Nick and Leigh came over to bring dinner and meet Aaron for the first time.

They brought pizza from Lost Dog (which was a treat because we always get sandwiches there), and we got to spend a few hours eating, catching up and playing with the kids.

The weird thing is - no pictures! Nick (who I not so secretly call our family's personal photographer) didn't bring his camera, and I (who clearly never puts her camera down) forgot to get mine out.

Guess this memory will have to remain only in thoughts and blogs ;)

He isn't even due yet!!!

For the past 4 weeks we have been constantly saying that Aaron "isn't even due yet" (a quote coined by my Aunt Marilyn).

Well today is the first day we have to put that phrase to rest!

August 25 was Aaron's original due date, which is also the date that the pediatrician told me he would start "waking up more."

If Brett and I getting up at 5:00am this morning and staying up with Aaron until 7am (when we had to be up anyway) is any indication, it seems like the doctor's prediction is right on.

God help our sleepless bodies!

Alright, now I am offended!

So, the first time someone asked me if I was pregnant after I had already given birth I really thought it was hilarious... but that was only 8 days after, this time it happened 3 weeks after giving birth and the woman was totally rude:

Scene: CVS in Annandale, I walk up to the counter to purchase breast feeding items.

Check out lady: Are you supposed to buy these before you have your baby?

Me: I don't know, I had my baby 3 weeks ago, but I didn't need them until now.

Check out lady: Oh... sorry, you just look really pregnant.

Seriously?!?!? I have lost over 25 pounds over the past 3 weeks, and while I do still have a pooch hanging on to my mid-section, I definately do not look pregnant!

Guess it is time to give up the empire wasted maturnity shirts that flare out over my belly. Clearly they aren't working for me anymore!

Dodgeball Tourny - Next month!!!

Our church is holding a dodgeball tournament next month and we wanted to post the information for anyone interested!

It will be held on Saturday, September 6 starting at 1pm at the Sports Network and Fitness Center in Manassas.

Each team needs 6 players and a $20 registration fee.

Brett is planning on getting a team together, so if you are interested in playing on TEAM AWESOME (name in the works) please let me know. Or if you know 5 other people that want to start a team of their own that would be even better!!!

For more information, or to register, click here!

If you have any questions just let me know!

I am not allowed to play (something aboiut a stupid recovery time after having a baby), but I will be cheering everyone on :)

What does Aaron see?

Our friend's Tony and Heather just introduced us to the coolest website! Tiny Eyes is a site that allows you to enter in the age of your child, a distance away from their face, and a photo. With this information it tells you what your child is seeing!

Example:

Aaron is a newborn, and we wanted to know what he saw when we were 12 inches from his face. We uploaded the following picture:

This is what Aaron sees:

Try it for yourself here!

Fears of a new mother...

If you talk to almost any new mother they will tell you that they have woken up in the middle of the night in a panic that their new baby isn't breathing. Some women check their newborns several times a day during naps and through the night just to be sure.

I am not one of these mothers.

Not to say that I NEVER had that pang of fear, I checked a couple times when Peter was a new born, but it is very rare. I guess that is the good part about not being a nervous mother/person.

The other night however the nervous mom came out in full force...

Scene - 3:30am, Brett and my bed, I have just woken up realizing that I dosed off while feeding Aaron.

Me - (half asleep) Honey, I think Aaron is done eating, can you bring him back to his room?

Brett - Sure (picks Aaron and takes him)

Me - (the words of a thousand stories and warnings I have heard about not having you baby in bed with you because you could smother them accidentally, run through my mind)

Brett - (returning to bed) Good night babe.

Me - Was Aaron alive when you put him to bed?

Brett - Yes

Me - Can you check?

Brett - OK? (leaves for a minute, then returns) He is fine.

Me - Are you sure?

Brett - Yes, he was breathing and everything.

Me - What methods did you use to determine that he was breathing?

Brett - Good night babe.

At that point I got up to check myself.

Aaron was fine... just like the rest of the 99.9999999999% of babies whose mothers freak out and insist on making sure they are OK!

I cannot stop...

...taking pictures of Peter and Aaron together!

Validating each other...

Saturday night, my Aunt Marilyn volunteered to watch both the boys so that Brett and I could have a night out. We headed out around 5:30pm for dinner at Silverado, to be followed by a movie.

At dinner I decided that I was going to order my first beer since becoming pregnant with Aaron. Toward the end of dinner the following conversation took place:

Brett - So, you planning on finishing that beer?

Me - Yes, I am just taking my time.

Brett - You haven't touched it in 30 minutes!

Me - Sorry, I am just not used to drinking anymore... I am a square now!

Brett - You aren't a square.

Me - Yes I am! When you met me I was hip, and I used to go out and get crazy, and now I am just a house wife who cannot finish a beer!

Brett - Oh stop it! If you are a square, I am a square! No one in their right mind would think that I am cool!

Me - I think you are cool.

But really, just having this conversation goes to show that neither of us are very cool. At least we are happy being square :)

Peter and Aaron doctor's report!

Last Thursday (on Peter's first birthday), both boys had doctors appointments.

Aaron's appointment was a weight check to make sure he was gaining since leaving the hospital. When Peter was born we had to do this for six weeks, because Peter wouldn't gain anything, but little Aaron was already 4 ounces above his birth weight! The good news there was that we don't have to bring him to get weighed anymore, but the bad news is that his next appointment will be for shots.

Speaking of shots, Peter had to get 2 during his appointment (not a great birthday present). He took them like and man and only cried briefly. His measurements were as follows:

Head circumference - 18 inches - 30 percentile

Height - 31 inches - 80 percentile

Weight - 19 pounds, 6 ounces - 8 percentile

So, as you can see Peter is still a string bean! Hopefully he will grow into his height soon, but Brett is delighted to have a "tall" child.

Baby's first jump suit!

When my Aunt Marilyn came to visit last week, she came bearing a gift for Peter's first birthday that she was VERY excited about. Knowing that Marilyn does have a knack for finding great gifts I was also excited, but wanted to wait for Peter to open it himself (Peter was in bed by the time she got here on Wednesday).

The next morning, we let Peter go to town on the wrapping paper...

It took him a while...

But finally he had it opened, to reveal a full blown white authentic Elvis Presley jump suit, covered in rind stones, with an eagle on the back, and a red scarf and sunglasses to match!!!

Brett's first reaction was that it was perfect for Halloween, but I might put it on him earlier!

What 1 year old wouldn't want to be dressed like the King ;)

Birthday Balloons!

Last Wednesday Peter received a birthday card in the mail from my grandmother, Renate.

As per usual, Renate included balloons in the card, which I blew up right away for Peter to play with. Knowing that babies and balloons don't always go well together (they bite balloon, the pop scares them, they inhale with fright, balloon rubber chokes them...) we watched Peter very carefully.

Despite the hazzard, Peter absolutely LOVED the balloons! He batted them around the house for 10 minutes, having the most fun when they would bounce back at him off the wall. Eventually he did pop them both by pushing them into the ground, but it was fun while it lasted!

Lost-N-Found

Last Friday, a neighbor came by and accidentally let our cat, Angel Food Cake, out.

Since we have been living in Annandale we have let her go out a little, because there isn't any wildlife around like there was at our home in McLean, however she always comes back within a couple hours. This time we were not so lucky.

Friday night I called for her all evening, shaking treats and trying to get her to come home. There was no sign of her anywhere.

The next morning, Brett and I took the kids on a long walk, searching all over the neighborhood and came home empty handed. At this point I really started to worry, so Brett and I made up "Lost Cat" signs and took another long walk searching and posting signs. Nothing.

By Sunday I was really panicked, but since we were having Peter's birthday party I had to put my mind on that. During the party my friends and I took trips around the block calling out for the cat, and asking neighbors, but no one could find her.

Until Sunday night. As our last party guests were leaving, up walks Angel Food Cake, like nothing was wrong.

Brett likes to think that she was on a great adventure, but I am not letting her out anymore. I would rather listen to her cry at the door, than worry about where she is!

Last Week's Helpers!

Before we had Aaron my doctor advised me to have someone at the house to help me for the first 8 weeks of recovery since we knew I was having a C-section. I had the schedule all set and then Aaron showed up 5 weeks early. Thankfully my friends and family came through and rearranged the schedule so that all days were covered.

Last week was the first week when Brett was back at work, so friends Alex, Andy, and Alana took Monday-Wednesday and my Aunt Marilyn was here on Thursday and Friday.

Monday, Peter's God Mother, Alex was here and we spend a relaxing day at home, taking walks, and resting up after the big birthday party. Tuesday, a friend from our small group, Andy, took her day off to spend with the boys and I. She joined us at Jammin Java for the Mr. Don show, and even got to lead the "Kitty Cat Parade." Wednesday, Alana took the ropes, and watched Peter in the morning while Aaron and I went to the doctor, and ran errands. That afternoon we just hung around the house and took walks around the neighborhood.

Wednesday night, my Aunt Marilyn came down from Tunkhannock, PA to help out and stayed with us until Sunday morning. We spent most of the time with the kids, but also had Brett watch them some so we could have some girl time, shopping and going to dinner with our friend, Sun. Marilyn also watched both kids on Saturday night so Brett and I could go on a date!

Thank you so much to all four of my helpers last week!

Peter's First Birthday Party!

The weekend before Peter's first birthday, Brett and I hosted friends and family for a small party to celebrate his first year milestone.

As Peter's birthday fell during the summer Olympics we used that as a theme, decorating with multi cultural flags, the Olympic colors, and serving Chinese food.

The hardest part of the day was getting Peter's birthday hat on, and once we finally did he took it off after only monents. His friend Morgan made many attempts at getting him to put it back on, but Peter wasn't into it at all!


After everyone had stuffed their faces with Chinese food, and watched a little Olympics it was time to sing "Happy Birthday!" Peter, being the ham that he is LOVED having all eyes on him, and did a number on his cupcake!


Two cupcakes later Peter needed a bath, but was soon back to his party to open his many generous gifts, including tons of new clothes (Brett was actually jealous of all the hoodies and a redskins shirt), and a few new toys (the theme seemed to be trucks and music makers).

It was a very fun afternoon, but totally wore Peter out. By the end of the party I found him laying on his back under the dining room table with the most tired look on his face. That night he slept for almost 14 hours!

Old post... just got the pictures!

While Brett and I were in the hospital with Aaron for five days my cousin Shellie and her daughter Hannah, watched Peter, carted him back and forth to and from the hospital, and took care of our home.

They just sent some photos that were super cute!




It was so nice to have someone to take care of our first baby, so we could be with baby #2 and not worry about anything.

Thanks Shellie and Hannah!!!