Independence

Jaxon is spreading his wings. He is taking risks and asserting his independence. The latest is in his clothes. Ms. Courtney taught him how to put on his socks & shoes and he couldn't be prouder. This confidence transferred to dressing himself. He mostly changes into pajamas on a whim. This weekend, he spread his wings and dressed himself from head to toe. He picked out his shirt, his pants & shoes. Oh dear.

He walked out of his room so very proud of himself. He came running out with the biggest grin and declared, "I got dressed AND brushed my teeth!" I, too, was proud of him. Then I looked at his shoes. I said, "Great job, Bud, but how about you wear your tennis shoes?" Brian quickly interjected by giving me THE LOOK and saying, "You're fine. No need to change." Then quietly said to me, "He's excited, don't burst his bubble. Who cares what he wears. He's a little boy."  So I put aside my vanity and walked out the door with him. Wishing he could wear a sign that said, "I'm 3 & I dressed myself"

He was so proud of this outfit that he wore it again on Sunday. Did I mention he wore the jersey to school on Friday? Yup. Three days in a row. I was able to sneak it into the washing machine once this weekend. 

2 Month Check Up

Last week Reese had her 2 month check up. That is code for shots, lots of them. My poor little Peesey. 

I remember when Jaxon got his first shots I laughed. Not to because I'm mean, but because the look on his face when they poked him was hysterical. When Reesey got her shots, I got teary eyed. My poor baby girl just looked sad & pathetic. I've said this before, but I feel more like a first time mom with Reese than I ever did with Jaxon. Must have been the NICU stint. I guess I feel she's more fragile.

Poor little legs.

I had a few concerns at this appointment. Reese's reflux was getting worse and worse. I knew it was going to, but the amount of spit up coming out of this baby's mouth was insane. Brian describes it as something out of The Exorcist. He's not joking. Plus her fussiness was out of control. She would cry for hours at a time. It was exhausting. 

Dr. Goldberg said the fussiness is probably due to the fact that she is allergic to cow's milk. He switched her formula to soy. She seems to be getting better, actually. Except now she screams when she tries to poop. 

For the reflux, he prescribed Zantac twice a day. The spit up has toned down considerably! Good thing, cause I was getting tired of changing my clothes and her clothes 5 times a day!

Now to get the poop thing under control. Let's hope the Karo syrup he suggested works.

Really sad about tummy time

Her stats are:

Weight - 8 lbs. 8 oz - 5th percentile

Length - 20 1/2 inches - 35th percentile

Head Circumference - 37 cm - 12th percentile

These percentiles are for a"normal" 2 month old. The nurse didn't give me her adjusted age percentiles & I couldn't figure out the chart I found online.

I got this idea from a teacher friend.

I am absolutely in love with her profile and lips.

Reese has been on the new formula & Zantac for over a week now & things have not gotten better. She cries inconsolably for what seems like all day long. You can just tell she doesn't feel well. It breaks my heart to see her in such pain. During the day & evening she sleeps the best while being held stomach to stomach. Thankfully she calms down after her 10:00 pm feeding.

Brian is calling the doctor tomorrow so hopefully we can come up with a more successful plan.

"Newborn" Pictures

 A few months ago we had family pictures taken by our friend Joel Chen. We loved them so much we asked him to do Reese's "newborn" pictures.  She was a little over 7 weeks and these pictures were actually taken on her due date!  

The three of us are completely, head-over-heels in love with this beautiful, little girl (even if she did pee on each of us during this photo shoot!). 

Christmas 2011

So, I'm thinking I should do a post about Christmas so that when I read my blog book (right now, non-existent, but it will get printed!) 30 years from now I will know that Christmas in 2011 was celebrated.

Just like Thanksgiving, it was a "weird" holiday. I don't feel like I got ready for it like in years past. There were so many things I wanted to do with Jaxon to get into the feeling of the Season. But, with a baby in the NICU, uncertain if she would be home by Christmas, and trying to wrap my brain around how Christmas day would flow if she was in the hospital I just wasn't feeling it. Looking back, we did do Christmas things... picked out a tree, went to Winterhaven, made one ornament, bought Christmas jammies, visited Santa. I still feel like I jipped poor Jaxon. No gingerbread house, no cookie baking, no Christmas crafts, no Christmas party. Sigh. Oh well. There's always next year... with TWO kids!

Even though I didn't do all of the wonderful things I wanted to do, I did have the best Christmas! Reese was home with us. There is nothing more I could have asked for.

Christmas Eve day came and Santa STILL had not wrapped any gifts. My dad took Jaxon to the base to see the airplanes while we wrapped presents at home.

Santa's Elf. She was a great wrapping assistant.

Does he not look so handsome in his sweater? Christmas was almost canceled because of it.

Trying to get a good picture

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4

Take 5

Maybe Reese will cooperate

Oh, maybe she won't cooperate

Please, no more pictures!

This dress makes my heart go pitter patter

Oh and the headband!

Love

Love even more!

My family together! Never mind Reesey's floppy head

Leaving the reindeer some food

Looking for Santa & his sleigh

Don't forget the cookies for Santa

Yes, we only left 2 cookies & a little milk... we were looking out for Santa's waistline

I just LOVE Christmas jammies! My mom got Jaxon Spiderman slippers to go along with the jammies and let me tell you, was he ever excited! He literally did laps around the house after opening them. You see, he's going through a pajama, comfy clothes phase. He could not have been happier to get pjs AND slippers!

Pretend there is a video of Jaxon waking up on Christmas morning (with his slippers on, yes, he slept with them!) so excited to see if Santa came to his house. Well, I'm not sure what happened but the video has disappeared. I am so very sad. It was the best video of Jaxon! 

Not impressed

Again, let's pretend there is a video of Jaxon discovering his bike. :( 

A rare awake moment for the Peesey