Tuesday, January 22, 2013

13 wks

Well I survived my first week back to work, which included my 12 hour night shifts.  I was anxious to go back, not because I was worried about the kids but because I was worried about if I was going to remember everything that I need to know to do my job well.  My first shift back was in the ICU and it went very well.  It was nice to be greeted with lots of hugs and "welcome back" comments.  I work with some really great people!  I do still miss spending every day with the kids, but I'm sure that once I'm back for a while longer I'll get used to this.  It was nice because our sitter sent me a picture text of Grant and let me know that he was doing well.  I knew that he would, but I still spent the day thinking about him and wondering how he was doing.  It was the first day that he woke up and didn't see my face. 

The week was going well and then came Thursday night.  Grant starting sleeping through the night last Friday, and Thursday night he was up crying all night unless he was sleeping on me.  I planned on making a Dr. appt. for him Friday morning before I went to work, but that morning he appeared to be back to his normally self with smiles and all.  I got home from work about 12:30 am after working Friday evening and Nate was awake with a crying baby again.  Once again he was up all night unless he was sleeping on us.  I couldn't figure out what could be wrong with him except for an ear infection.  Crying at night was the only way that we ever knew that Ava had an ear infection.  So Saturday morning I made an appt. at or pediatrician's office and sure enough, Grant has his first ear infection in his right ear.   He's now on amoxicillin for 10 days and is once again sleeping through the night (thank God).  I felt bad for not taking him in Friday and putting him through another night of misery.  I'm just grateful that he's feeling better.

As I said before, I worked my 12 hr night shifts so Nate had the kids.  I was awake most of Saturday taking Grant to the Dr, etc so I was going off 2 hours of sleep when I went to work.  Luckily work was very busy that night so I didn't sit down all night and it went very quickly.  Ava had a sleep over at Mema & Boppa's Saturday night just in case Grant had another rough night.  Lucky for Nate, Grant slept all night long.  They all spent Sunday at church and then Mema & Boppa's while I slept.  Nate survived his first weekend alone with the kids.  We'll do it again in 3 weeks, only next time it will be day shifts.

 

Grant getting a little love from his sister. 
I know, he looks like a little sausage stuffed in this chair...but I love this little sausage!
13 weeks old today (wearing a 9 month outfit here, and I put a 12 month pair of pjs on him tonight which won't be fitting for to much longer)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Pictures

Here are the promised pictures.  Some of them are a little out of order but I don't have the time to move them around.  I hope you don't mind.  Enjoy...
 
Grant's last minute 11 wk picture.
 
Ava baking cookies with Grandma & Sara on Saturday morning.  I think she had more flour on her and the counter than she did in the bowl.
 
Auntie Lisa & Grant.  We were so happy that she, Uncle Craig, and Nick came to play for a little while Saturday morning.
Grandpa & Grant having a little chat and laughing
 
Us with Grant's Godparents Craig & Lisa
Great Grandma with Grant
 
Cutest little man!
 
Blowing out your pants and getting baptized all in the matter of an hour is exhausting!
 
Nana & Grant
 
So yeah, this one is a little out of place but I stated before that I was going to post a picture of the kids with Santa and Mrs Claus.  Cousins Jakob, Zack, Reece, and Anna are pictured with them.
 
Ava having her first of Many tea parties at her new table that Grandma & Grandpa brought up.  My siblings and I had many tea parties at that same table.
 
Nick, Grant, & Ava
 
Grant
 
Grandpa, Grant, Grandma, & Ava making cookies
 
The best part about making cookies...licking the beaters
 
Grandpa & Grant
 
Ava very interested in what Pastor Bob is doing to her brother
 
A little family picture
 
Grandma, Grandpa, & Grant
 
The Veldmans with Nana
 
Grandma & Ava. 
 
The out-of-state people.  Thanks so much for making the trek up!
 
"What?!?  I finally found it and I'm keeping it!"

Baptism

Well, I finally have a couple of minutes to download some pictures onto the blog from our big baptism weekend, plus the promised pictures from my last blog post...and there is something wrong with my site that won't let me download pictures from my computer.  I'm not sure what is going on but it's extremely frustrating.  I suppose I'll write to let you know what we were up to, but I know that you're always wanting pictures. 

Sunday was Grant's big day.  He was baptized.  We were blessed to have so many friends and family join us for the celebration.  Grandma, Grandpa, and cousin Sara arrived at our place around 1:15 Saturday morning.  We just hung out around the house in the morning and got to play with Auntie Lisa, Uncle Craig, and Nick.  It was so good to see them and we are SO grateful that they made the drive all the way up here from KC.  Grant is very lucky to have such wonderful godparents.  After lunch Grandma, Grant, and I went to the Mall of America (I don't need to be reminded to never go there on a weekend again) to meet up with Aunt Virg, Cristina, Aunt Darlene, Great Grandma, and cousins Zacky and Reece so that we could look for prom dresses for Sara and Cristina.  Sara did find one and she looks beautiful in it.  We finished the evening having dinner with everybody. 

Grant started his day off with a bang, blowing out his pj's while I was feeding him.  I was grateful for this, thinking that then we would be safe and not have to worry about him pooping in his little baptismal tux.  He has had very few blowouts in his life so I wasn't really worried.  We all got out the door on time and got to the church a little early.  I was in the restroom and as I was on the way out my mom came in carrying Grant.  He had bright yellow poop all over the back of his white pants.  Thankfully my aunt came in with a Norwex cloth and was able to get most of it out after much scrubbing.  I don't think that anybody noticed.  Grant did pretty good during the service and only cried a little bit.  He enjoyed all of the attention that he got, and his sister enjoyed opening all of his presents.  Grant spent the afternoon pooping on everything.  He blew out his tux and another outfit.  I guess he didn't like Pizza Ranch from the night before. 

This was a big weekend for Grant for another reason.  Friday night he started sleeping through the night.  That's right, for the past three nights he has slept from about 10:15 pm until 7 am.  Unfortunately his sister is now waking up.  Anyway, I really hope that this continues since I return to work tomorrow.  Yes, tomorrow is the day.  I can not believe that it's been 12 weeks since Grant came into this world and made us a family of 4.  It's gone so quickly.  I'm going to miss my days at home with him (and Ava).  I do however know that he'll be in good hands with our babysitter.  I'll be anxious to see his smiles and listen to him chatter tomorrow evening when I pick them up.  He was So talkative last night!

Ava has been busy having a lot of tea parties.  Grandma and Grandpa brought up the table and chairs, plus the high chair that used to be my sister's and mine when we were little.  She absolutely loves them! 

Well my free time has run out.  I will do my best to get pictures up here ASAP.  I want to share them with you, as there are some really cute ones of the little man in his tux, as well as some with Ava from this weekend. 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Big girl underwear and finding thumbs

Yes, big girl underwear and finding thumbs have been the excitement of our week.  I know, it all sounds very exciting! 

As of Saturday morning, Ava has had only one accident and we honestly couldn't be more excited.  I write this as she is at preschool so I'm hoping that this trend has continued even though she is not at home.  For some reason, something clicked on Saturday and she decided not to fight us on using the potty.  Granted, she doesn't tell us when she has to go.  I've just been taking her every two hours and she goes.  As long as I don't have to buy any more diapers I don't care.  I tell myself that we'll eventually get to the point where she will just tell us and go herself.  Hopefully before she turns 3.

Grant has also been very busy.  He is not potty trained and had a huge blow-out this morning which required an early morning bath.  Other than that, he's been spending hours a day looking at his fist and trying to figure out how to get his thumb out from under his fingers and into his mouth.  It is hilarious watching him try to control his little hand.  It's not so hilarious when he gets frustrated and starts fussing because he can't get his thumb in his mouth.  I'm really hoping that once he masters the thumb into mouth motion that he'll be able to comfort himself and put himself back to sleep in the middle of the night.  Why is this so important you ask...because I'm going back to work in 4 days.  Yes, next Tuesday morning I'll be leaving my babies and going back to the hospital.  I am honestly dreading it.  I didn't necessarily want to go back to work after Ava was born, but I wasn't dreading it like I am today.  This 12 weeks has just gone by far to quickly.  I have to say that I am grateful that we have the sitter that we do.  Cyndi is great with Ava and I know that she will take good care of Grant as well.  I know that I would feel even worse if I had to leave him in an infant room with 7 other crying infants where he probably wouldn't get much attention.  I hope that they have a good day there on Tuesday.  Also, say a little prayer for Nate that morning.  It may be interesting to see what time he gets out the door after getting the two kids dressed and out the door by himself. 

We've been busy this past week.  Nate left on a work trip to Florida on Monday morning so Aunt Darlene and Great Grandma came up to stay with us.  It was nice to have some other people around to help with the kids and just so I wasn't home alone.  Yes, I'm 31 yrs old and I still don't like staying home alone at night with the kids.  It's reassuring to know that I have another set of hands here in case of an emergency.  Anyway, Monday afternoon Ava stayed home with Aunt Darlene and Great Grandma while I took Grant for his 2 month well baby check.  He weighed in at 16 lbs 5 oz and was 26 inches long.  That puts him in the 97th percentile for height and weight.  I'm kind of surprised that he wasn't off the charts.  He's 11 wks old and is starting to wear 9 month clothes.  He got 3 shots and of course cried afterwards.  He slept for the next 3 1/2 hours and then woke up cranky.  I gave him some tylenol, he fell back asleep, and was back to his happy self the next morning.  I'm sure his poor little legs were just sore.  I was so glad to have my happy little guy back!

Tuesday morning Ava and I went to our first ECFE class while Grant stayed home with Aunt Darlene and Great Grandma.  It was so nice to have time with just Ava.  A time where I didn't tell her that she had to wait because I had to do something with Grant.  She had a great time and I enjoyed it as well.  Unfortunately I work a lot of Tuesdays after returning to work so I won't get to go.  Ava will still go because Cyndi and her son are in the same class.

Today Ava is at preschool/daycare so Grant and I have been busy running errands and getting groceries for this weekend.  Sunday Grant will be baptized.  We are excited to see our family, and are so grateful to our good friends Lisa & Craig who are driving up from Kansas City so that they can be Grant's God Parents.  We are truly blessed with such amazing family and friends! 

I don't have time to upload pictures right now, but I promise my next post will have pictures.  I know that's really the only reason people look at the blog.  :)  Hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Christmas

Another year has quickly come and gone, and what a blessed year it was!  We sold out town home in 2 days, moved in with our parents/in-laws, built a home, had a healthy and very happy baby, and moved into our new place.  Nate and I continue to have good jobs, we have good health, and have a healthy and "spirited" two year old on top of our healthy "big boy".  God is good, and has been very good to us! 

We decided this year that we were going to spend Christmas at home even though I didn't have to work.  It was so nice to just hang out at home with our family.  Christmas eve we went to church and then over to Mema & Boppa's for dinner.  John, Cheryl, Lauryn, Dave, and J joined us for dinner.  It was so nice to see them and get to spend that time with them.  Ava is super excited that she got asked to be the flower girl in Dave & Lauryn's wedding.  They are so very special to us!!!  Christmas morning we got up and did our stockings.  Uncle Wes, Aunt Janna, Mema, & Boppa came over and we opened all of our gifts and had a very yummy brunch.  The rest of the day was spent reading books, playing toys, etc.  It was just a nice low key day.

Friday afternoon we packed up the Traverse and headed south.  We had to stop only once to feed Grant and have dinner before we arrived at Grandma & Grandpa's that evening around 8:30.  Nate went down to my Grandma's to watch the gopher game while I stayed home and put the kids to bed.  Saturday was spent pretty much eating all day, or at least that's how I felt.  There was so much food and for some reason I couldn't stay away from it.  Ava loved playing with her cousins while Grant enjoyed being held, cuddled, and kissed 24/7.  We opened presents after nap time and before we knew it, Santa and Mrs. Clause arrived.  We then had a nice dinner and I somehow made room for my mom's dessert.  Ava was once again up until 10:00 playing with her cousins.  She was exhausted, but had such a great time.  She got to sleep on Grandma & Grandpa's bedroom floor with all her cousin's, and they had story time in the big bed each morning. 

Sunday morning we went to Grandma Great's to have our last Christmas celebration.  We spent the entire day up there.  It was great to see everybody there, and it was so nice that we didn't have to rush out of there in order to get home that evening.  Nate took Monday off so that we could spend the extra day down there.  So Monday morning we packed up, made a quick stop at the bank to tell Grandma good-bye, and then headed home.  New Year's Eve was very low key as we stayed in and hung out. 

Grant is now 10 weeks old, which means that I have to head back to work very shortly.  Just 11 more days and I'll be returning.  That means that Grant has 11 days until he figures out how to sleep through the night.  Last Friday, while at my parent's house he slept from 11:40 pm until 6:40 am.  Amazing!  Now we just need a repeat performance...on a nightly basis.  Last night he was up at 2 am.  Granted, he gets up only once a night but sleeping through the night sure would be nice for when I return back to work.  I remember that Ava started to consistently sleep through the night at 11 weeks.  Hopefully Grant will do the same!

Well I'm exhausted so I'll sign off for the night.  I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a Wonderful and blessed 2013!




 After Christmas Eve service
 Boppa, Grant, Mema, & Ava
 All the grandkids with their piggy banks, which they put money into every time they spend the night at Grandma & Grandpa's. 
 Mema and princess Ava reading princess stories.
 Ava trying to get to the bottom of her stocking...wouldn't want to miss anything
 "Dr. Ava" is what she calls herself.  I have to tell you, we got our money's worth out of that doctors kit after the first day...I'm so tired of playing Dr. 
 Mema & Grant chatting and smiling
All smiles!


A little smooch for Jakob.

Cousin Jakob could not get enough of Grant.  He would have held him and given him kisses all day long. 
Grandma Becker made aprons for the grandkids.
All the kids watching for Santa and his reindeer to leave.  I tried to upload a picture of Santa, Mrs. Clause, and the kids but I think I hit my limit on pictures.  I'll try again later. 
Ava loves her Dora stuff from Grandma Great
Early morning story time in Grandma & Grandpa's bed.  Grant joined in after he had breakfast.  All of the grandkids (minus Grant) had a slumber party on Grandma & Grandpa's bedroom floor.
Grant & Dave having a little chat
Grandma Great with all the great grandkids

Snuggle/nap time with Grandma Great
Ava & Grandpa
 Grant's 10 week picture.  We've gotten lazy and didn't do a sign yet again.  And yes, he's in his pj's getting ready for bed.  Sometimes we don't get around to these things until the last minute.