Thursday, April 30, 2009

We're still here...!

Whoa....I am so, so, so behind in posting... and to think, I used to post every day!

First, Yes, we are all doing wonderfully! Everyone is healthy and happy.

I've received several calls, texts, emails, even snail mail asking, "Are you okay? I haven't seen a post recently..."... Here's an explanation...oh, where do I even begin?

Simply put, we have been incredibly busy. As I've said before...who needs a gym membership, when you have two kids 18 months apart? We have all been sick (again), there have been some stressful issues occuring in our immediate and extended families, Mark has been working non-stop, we don't have a nanny of course, (but we do have house cleaners thank the Lord!)...so with phone calls, laundry piling up, taking care of sick kids, cleaning, cooking, bills, doctor's appointments, etc... My blog has continuously gotten pushed aside...so that more pertinent issues may be handled...like laundry... Oh, and if I have a extra 30 minutes when both kids are asleep at the same time (little chance), I try and catch a nap!

So...long story short...my precious little journal has been pushed aside every day so that my family can be fed, clothed, and taken care of properly... :)

But so much has been going on!

Little (um, sorry, I mean BIG) Hunter has been growing so fast! At three months, he weighed 15 lbs 8 oz and is now well over 16 lbs! As the doctor said, you'd never know he is a reflux baby just by looking at him! He is huge. He is so long, too! Most importantly, he is sooo happy! He laughs and laughs all the time. He "talks" to anyone constantly, practicing his vowels, mostly. :) He gurgles, smiles and coos to just about everyone. He is so much fun in the morning, especially. His reflux is so much better now that he's been on a compounded version of Prevacid. We've also begun to wean him off the Reglan, which drained the milk out of his stomach. We still add a lot of rice cereal to his formula (thus, the healthy chunky monkey!) to weigh his food down in his tummy. He is sleeping well, though Madison still has him beat on the perfect definition of a "good sleeper". He falls asleep around 10 pm and wakes to eat again around 7 or later. However, he only usually catnaps during the day...sometimes only taking two 30 minute naps a day...other times he'll sleep for a couple hours, but that is not frequent. Madison, on the other hand, slept 12 + hrs by the time she was 3 months old and still takes a 3 hr nap each day!

Hunter also rolled over for the first time this week! At 3 and a half months old, I am pretty proud, especially considering that I haven't even laid him flat on the ground until three weeks ago due to his reflux. He's only done it once, completely on his own, but is very close to continue rolling over. He can, however, scoot across the room. It's great! Of course, we think he's a genius... :)

Madison is also doing well. She continues to make us laugh each day. She says a new word every day, it seems. She knows many of her colors and most of her animals and can count to three. She most of all loves to be outdoors and does not want to come inside...ever! Her curly hair is getting longer and she is getting taller. I can't believe she will be two years old soon! She loves school, has "best friends", and is especially curious about everything. I mean, it's fascinating how curious she is...and it gets her in a wee bit of trouble, too... She throws all caution to the wind, loves to test mommy and daddy, and goes full steam ahead each day. She loves playing hide and seek and also loves to dance.

I am doing great. I feel great and feel like I can stand on my own two feet without any problem or any help. Of course, help is always welcome, but you know what I mean. :) Now that I am getting more sleep, it has made a world of difference. Mark is still working incredibly ridiculous hours including many weekends, which makes me a single parent most days. That is hard, but I'm absolutely having a fabulous time with both my kiddos and praise God for blessing us with two!

Thank you for your words of encouragement during the last few months that were pretty challenging. Additionally, I am humbled by the emails, letters, phone calls of actual thanks! My prayer has been that, in various ways, my honest words of what's been going on in my life might have affected you, enocuraged you, made you feel not so alone...in any positive way...and I love you guys for it. :)

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Hunter laughing on his 3 month birthday

Easter pics

Unfortunately, Mark had to work all Easter weekend. So, when he got home, we celebrated Easter late in the afternoon. Thank goodness our kids are young, so they didn't know any differently.

Madison's Easter picture taken in her (other) Easter dress is yet to come...


Madison's Easter cards, basket, and crafts she made at school.

Opening her basket with Daddy...art supplies, candy, fruit, movies, books.

Hunting for Easter eggs was FUN!


Oh, they're suprises inside, too?

Our "family Easter basket" that my mom and dad give us every year. So cute. Our favorite candy, gift cards, home decorations, toys for baby, books/art supplies for Madison. Mark's parents sent the kids an Easter box as well.

Our boy is getting even bigger...

And now let's put marker all over our face and hands. Good idea, huh?

I've learned you can never leave your toddler for a minute unsupervised, or else...

They may break your favorite (dark purple, of course) nail polish all over your Italian tiled floor...
Get spaghetti everywhere and...

...all over the walls, toys, and baby gear...

We've done lots of cleaning up lately, to say the least...

Rest of March pics

Madison just had to eat with her baby doll...

...and then decided to put her baby doll in her food...

Madison and Daddy play outside each day...even if he gets home late!


Look how big our boy is getting! Here, he was around 13 lbs.

At two months old, Hunter started to smile frequently in reaction to something we did. He is SO ticklish and laughs so much that it is just adorable. He's very vocal and "talks" all the time.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Aunt Sarah's Visit

Here are some (well overdue) pics of when my sister came to visit! We had a BLAST when she was here. Her neice and nephew are in love with her, naturally. I had lots of fun with her here, too, and did NOT want her to leave!

Eating at Chick-Fil-A before our big night out...going to see Sesame Street Live!

Aunt Sarah and Madison outside Ford Arena before the show.

The big production...thank goodness it was only an hour. Great for kids, but I was getting bored to tears... :)


Hunter was obviously really excited to see the show.


Jenny and Cooper (sister Emma is behind Cooper)


Jamie and Avery


Our family...Madison loved the show...danced and clapped and was enamored.


Doing some serious artwork outside...


We're really big into stickers now...and love to decorate our body with them, too.


See what I can do?


Lil' bro and Big sis (Hunter is growing so quickly, he can't even fit in this outfit anymore)


Hey guys!

I love Aunt Sarah...

Our trip to the Houston Zoo




At the petting zoo part of the zoo...


Aunt Sarah put together a new water/sand table for Madison...she loves it so much. And her golf set...which she sometimes also uses in her water/sand table...but now we're trying to teach her to keep the sand INSIDE the sandbox and not throw it up in the air, in her hair, or all over the grass. :)

He'll never be this small again!

Relaxing together in front of a Disney show...


We all went to the Bounce Zone, an inflatable indoor park. It was a blast! Madison throws caution to the wind, so we knew this was a safe place for her to do her gymnastics and go wild.