4 months is too long ....

What in the world have I been doing? Not updating this blog is all. I think I made it worse on myself when I made two blogs, one for Joey and one for Joshy. It would be so much easier to just go ahead and keep one for all the kids. Especially now that we're adding on another little boy to the mix so I think I'll go do that now ....

We're on the News!!!

Today Jim had reserves but it was unlike his typical drill weekend. We, Jim the kids and I, were to be at the War Memorial in downtown Milwaukee for a welcome, an official welcome home. Jim's been home from Iraq for 3+yrs now but never has the battalion said "Thank You" to him, his fellow troops or the families until today!
It was a nice little ceremony with a LOT of soldiers to thank and recognize for their time spent in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and other parts of the world in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
I sat in the right spot for once and had the local news standing right in front of me! Because my babies are so dang adorable they caught the attention of the reporter and her camera-woman and lots of camera time was spent on the boys. After all the awards were presented and the ceremony was over the reporter asked if she could interview us, I said yes, I was so psyched!! I've never been on TV or anything like that before. So we interviewed and here is the link to the video that was broadcast! All four of us were on and mentioned by name. I'm really excited that they spelled my name right, helps that they recorded ME spelling it for them I guess!! LOL So here's the link, I don't know how long it will be good for. I have a copy on DVD from my DVD recorder but I can't get it to work on my computer for some reason. I wrote to the TV station and asked if they would get me a copy so we'll see what they say.
http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/video/13683361/index.html

Enjoy!!

Our first 911 call and ambulance ride

Yesterday morning (Sunday) daddy got up with the kids and let me sleep in. Oh how I love that! He made us breakfast and I have to say he's a pretty good breakfast cook. So I got up and we were eating breakfast together. I got out a gallon of milk for me, that I'd not opened yet and put it on the table. I turned around to put other things away and get me a cup. I turned back to the table and there is Joey with the gallon of milk in his hand going head first off his booster-chair onto the floor. I can't really describe how he fell as it happened so fast but...instinctively I picked him up and took him into the living room. He was crying pretty good and usually when he's hurt himself he shows the tears for a few seconds and stops. Then it hit me, his neck, I saw his head go all the way back, it's like he landed on his forehead and the weight of his body forced his neck back then his body went forward so he kinda landed on his tummy. So I held him really close to my body and carefully moved from the couch to the floor and as carefully as I could, while stabilizing his neck, laid him down. Once I got him down and held him tight I told Jim to call 911 then call his mom and tell her to get over here immediately. (of course no one local was around so my mom had to drive down from 45mins away! Thank God for her!!)

The ambulance got here in just a few minutes as we live only 3 miles from the firestation. They put him on the c-spine board and had him all strapped down. Man did he hate that! He could only move his hands and wrists and feet and lower legs. He held on tightly to his Thomas the Tank Engine while he screamed for mommy and daddy.

I went with him in the ambulance and luckly they took him quietly so no sirens to scare him. Not even half way to the hospital he quieted down which was such a relief, I was holding up well but ready to break down at any moment with horrible thoughts of paralysis and such. Joey started saying "all done." It was heart-breakingly adorable! I was so all-done too.

They did a couple x-rays and he did pretty well with those. Not like he had much choice being all strapped up right? A bit later the doctor came in and said everything looked fine and he just wanted to take off the c/s board and look at his back and head. He gave Joey a good once over and he was deemed healthy and fit!

Thank you God for catching my baby and cushioning him during his fall and keeping him safe!

He was his normal self the rest of the day. We did our best to keep him quiet and not play too hard but that's not easy to do with a 2yr old. One thing he was really missing was his "5 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" which we always do before naps and night time. But he didn't squawk too badly about it. Went down for his nap and at bedtime very easily and now I am to wake him every two hours (he's going to hate that!) to make sure he arouses ok and there's no head injury. I'm confident there isn't a head injury but I'll do it anyway for my big boy (baby) :)

Joey did great during the night. I went in there a few times and he aroused as usual, before I even got in the door! He's always been a light sleeper, you can't sneak in on him very often. He didn't like to be woken up but he did just fine and went right back to sleep again.

Forgot some pictures

Here's the pictures of Joey helping with the dishes! Isn't he cute as can be? Keep in mind, he's not even 2 yet on these :)

It's been too long...where has the time gone?

Joey is 2yrs old now! Oh my, how time flies. When in the world did he stop being a baby and turn into such a big boy?
We had his birthday party this past Saturday June 23rd and it was a very nice time. We had both grandma's, grandpa, both Aunties (Daniele and Lori), Uncle Chad, 3 cousins (Lindsey, Katie and Jacob), my cousin Lisa who was meeting Joey for the first time! Auntie Tiffany, Shane and little girlfriend Kasia, Playgroup from June and Jerry with their triplets (Eddie, Joey and Ella) and big sister Eva, Mary Ann (aka GG (Kasia's great-grandma)..I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.
He did a terrific job with blowing out his candles. He's never blown out a candle before and he knew exactly what to do some how. He was trying to blow them out before I even got them lit!
Mommy and Daddy got Joey a bounce house so he and his friends got to enjoy that which was really nice!
Well here are some picture of our big boy Joey who got a clean bill of health at his pediatrician's back on the 9th of June. He was
25lbs 13oz---- 25%:
33" long-----10-25% (don't know why they give that range?)
19 1/2" head----75%.
So he's doing great! OH and he's getting speech therapy now and is doing wonderful with that as well. He's now saying consistantly and appropriately and understandably:
ma-ma
daddy
Josh
shoes
all done
uh-oh
bye-bye
hi
hello and
thanks.
It's not a lot for a 2yr old but better than just the "thanks" which was his only word for a long time. He's signing better too he does,
hungry(or eat)
thirsty(or drink)
thanks
dog
ball
play
sleep/nap/tired
he'll mimic other signs but not doing them on his own yet. He's saying a ton of sounds on command and will do a wonderful bird and train sound for you if you ask! LOL
He is wonderful with Joshy and loves to help with everything and anything.
He has to take the bottle to Joshy and will half the time manage to get it into Joshy's mouth too.
He'll replace a fallen nuk a lot and pick it up off the floor for mommy.
He says HI Joshy every morning and gives good night kisses to Josh every night. He loves to clean things up and is alway wiping down a table or whatever.
One day Joshy spit up all over the floor and me and himself, it was a mess! Joey got me a receiving blanket (which we frequently use for spit up) and while I was cleaning off me and Josh, Joey pulled out some baby wipes and promptly started cleaning up the mess on the floor! It was great!
He loves to help with the dishes and his favorite thing is to push over a chair and stand next to you to help out! :)
He drinks out of a regular cup and does excellent as long as you don't put too much in there. If you do put in too much it's like he knows it and will make a mess
He will wipe off his own face when given a napkin
Uses a spoon and fork very well, he just chooses not to use them often
He's a good go-for..he'll go get almost anything especially shoes!
He's brushing his teeth 2x daily now
Wow, that's all I can think of for now. Lets see if I can't get those pictures posted now.

Lets Play a game called, what's hiding in Joey's clothing!!

This morning, in his sleeper............his toothbrush from last night!!!!
(I was wondering where that went to!)

Where to keep your personal items....

Last night while getting Joey ready for bed I found something interesting he likes to do....well let me back up... Jim got him up one day from his nap, we'd kept it a PJ day...DH happens to feel something in his sleeper. He unzips and low and behold Joey's got 2 AA batteries inside his sleeper at the foot.

Ok yes, bad mommy for letting him get the batteries but that's better than last night...

While I wasn't sure if he put the batteries in his sleeper or they happen to fall in there, I found out the answer last night.

He's got on this onsie that is a shirt (part of an outfit) and pair of shorts on. I take off the shorts and go to unsnap the onsie...what falls out? Oh about a dollar in change (quarters, pennies and dimes) and a AA battery! LOL
Apparently he doesn't like pockets which I've recently showed him how to use, but likes to keep his "things" tightly confined in his clothes!

My kid, the bank and Energizer bunny! LOL Hold on tightly to your loose change or Joey will get it!

After he was ready for bed, my big boy finally went BACK into his big boy room again. Awhile back, after baby brother was born, Joey started climbing out of his crib. I ended up putting him back into the nursery as that crib was more difficult to get out of. Well he figured out how to get out of it too but lost interest in it and hasn't climbed out in weeks. So last night I got his room, which had become a sort of storage area, back into some order and he spent the night in his big boy room (in the crib) again and did GREAT!!!

Go read Joshy's post to see where Joshy slept!! :)

Joey and his little brother

New dedicated blog for Joshy

After viewing all the new pictures I want to share of Joshy I decided it was time he had his own blogspot so I'll do my best to update both boys blogs as best as I can! So when you come visit don't forget to check out Joshy's spot too!

http://adayinjoshyslife.blogspot.com/

More 3 month pictures of Joshy

Here is my smiley happy little boy. He smiles more and more every day!


This outfit was bought for big brother Joey but looks just as adorable on Joshy!

Look at all that hair! It's so unmanageable it's funny! I just love it and boy does he get the attention because of it.
Isn't that statement placed right? LOL

Joshy at the park on his 3 month birthday

he wasn't real thrilled with the idea but didn't fight it either! LOL I tried to get a short video clip of Joey his little friend Kasia and Joshy all together, going down the slide but it was a bust. Joey tried to push Joshy off him and Kasia held herself from going down! Oh well, that's (nearly) 2 yr olds for you!

Joshy is 3 months old today!!!

I have no idea where the past 3 months have gone. They have truly flew right by me. You know I still have yet to send out Joshy's birth announcements or thank you notes!! I must seem so ungrateful for all the wonderful things family and friends have given to me and Joshy. I just haven't had time to sit down and write them out and address them...addressing them is the biggest part. If my printer was working I'd buy labels and print out addresses that way but alas my printer isn't working so that's not happening :( For those of you reading this that I owe Thank You notes to and birth announcement...I Thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart and I'm truly sorry I've not gotten out to you what I should have. I hope you can forgive me.

Joshua is up to about 12lbs now, he's gained 3lbs in a months time with formula supplement. I don't know his length, we'll find that out in June when he and Joey go in for their next pediatrician appointments.

For Joshy's 3 month birthday we had a beautiful day and went to the park. Joey of course had more fun but Joshy loves the fresh air and breeze on his face.

What can I say? Joshy is a wonderful, beautiful, happy, thriving, intelligent, and strong little infant who is so very cherished by his mommy, daddy and big brother. Not to mention family and friends too! :)

Been a busy time!

Wow, the past month and a half has been super busy, so much happening. I haven't had a chance to breath much less update!!

Lets start with Joshy's 2 mos pediatrician appointment. It didn't go so great, not bad but not great. Joshy only gained 10 ounces over his birth weight and about an inch in length. He was 8lbs 8oz at birth and only 9lbs 2oz at 2 mos. I knew he wasn't gaining well and I should have taken him in sooner but luckly for me to harm was done. His problem appears to be my breastmilk. Either he's not getting enough or there's not enough calories in it. I bought an infant/toddler scale and started supplementing him with formula and while it's still fluctuating (based directly on the amount of formula he gets or doesn't get) I've got him over 11lbs now! Not much over but at least he's gaining so it's not a medical problem. He's much less fussy now as well. I feel so badly that I was in essence starving my kid and didn't even know it! :(

I got a new job, closer to home. It's with the same company just closer so I don't waste all my time driving. I come off my maternity leave at 8 weeks but don't work until 2 weeks later, which is my last weekend at my old job. The following week I start at the new job. I hate the thought of leaving my boys but I trust that daddy will manage during the night just fine!

Joey is behind in his speech development. I talked to his pediatrician at Joshy's 2 mos appt and found that Joey is really really behind! I called early intervention to get him evaluated for speech therapy. We managed to get the first step taken care of, the paperwork, I'm still waiting for someone to come evaluate him! I've been working with him quite a bit and am noticing he's already doing better. His only word before was "thanks" (thanks to Blue's Clues!) now he's saying "all done", his own version of "here I am" or "here it is." Mom, mommy, dad, da-da, ball. But he's very stingy in what he'll say and when! I'm sure once the professionals are working with him he'll be talking so much I'll wish he'd be quite for 2 seconds! LOL

Well that's all I have time for now, there's more, but we have got to get ready for swimming class!

Joey with Joshy pictures

Joshy Pictures

Joey Pictures

I took the boys to get professional pictures done last week. It was a chore with 2 little boys but we managed to get some really great pictures. Joshua managed to stay awake and keep his eyes open which made me happy as heck. Joey was asleep for his 1 month pictures and while cute aren't as nice as open eyes! Joey wasn't feeling well (I didn't know this yet) so he wasn't easy to get to sit still or smile but we managed. We worked hard but we managed. I know I'm biased but heck I've got 2 great looking little boys! These pictures are wonderful!! Kudos to Sears and the lady photographer who did a remarkable job getting my 20 month old to smile! :)
I bought the smaller of the big packages which gives you a CD of the pictures and a copyright release so I can make all the copies (legally) I want!
However, I'm having problems getting blogger to upload them. I've tried just about everyday for the past 5 days and I can't get them up. So when I do you'll see them!

One month update

Well it's been a trip this past month of being the mommy of two boys. It's been wonderful and exhausting all at the same time.

Joey has developed into a loving big brother, almost too much so. He wants to hold Joshy all the time and won't leave the poor baby alone! LOL I put Joshy in the swing and Joey goes over and stops the motion to kiss him and try to pick him up. It's so adorable yet so annoying!!

We had to start doing two naps a day with Joey to help ward off temper tantrums. He was getting really bad with tantrums. He would hit, kick, head-butt, bite..you name it. I got to the point that I'd put him in his crib to give us all a time out from him and found that he'd fall asleep or be in the middle of trying to fall asleep within minutes! I took the hint and it's helped a ton! I don't know why he needs the extra nap at this age but if he needs it he can have it. It's not affected his night time sleep so why not right? Since doing this he's been my loving adorable happy little boy (and big brother) that I knew he was/would be.

He's developing wonderfully too and learning. He can point out the letters J and O and sometimes A. The kid doesn't talk but he's learning his letters! LOL I'm trying to work more with getting him to talk but it's not easy and I don't really know what I"m doing :(

Joey is a great helper. He's turning into my little go-for and it's so much easier having him bend over to pick up something than for me to do it with a baby in my arms. He loves to help and I love having his help.

Joshy is doing wonderfully. He's definately growing well. At his last dr appt he was 8lbs 15oz and I know he's added more since then. It's so hard to see your babies adding weight or growing but recently it's hit him how much bigger he appears so that tells me he is growing!

He is a great baby. He cries more than Joey did but it's never for no reason. Joey didn't complain about a wet diaper but Joshy does so that makes a difference. He's loving his swing when Joey will let him swing. He loves to cuddle and be held. He loves his pacifer. He is doing great with nursing and so far we've not had ANY problems with it (Please God leave it that way). I've introduced him to a bottle and he takes it wonderfully but does appear to have a little issue with nipple confusion after the fact. It's difficult to get him to latch onto me after a bottle but he will do it eventually.

Joshy loves his bath times. I bet he'd like to live in the warm bath water! LOL He also loves being swaddled and being toasty warm. He doesn't like to get chilled in any way.

He's sleeping with mom right now but mom is hoping that ends soon. I love having him close but it's getting difficult for me to sleep when he's moving or making noises. I moved Joey from my bed at 2 mos of age so I'm hoping Joshy will move around that same time as well.

Joshy gave me a smile the day before he turned one month old!!! He was awake and I was talking to him and he smiled at me twice! It wasn't gas but I think he was just trying out his facial muscles. I have gotten one more smile since then so I'm hoping they'll be meaningful real soon!

All in all our house is doing great and we feel very blessed to have such wonderful and healthy, happy content little boys.

One Month Old...where has the time gone?
Joey loves Joshy!!
Daddy and Joey swimming at the Y
That's daddy, Joey with Auntie Tiffany and his friend Suzanna with her mommy Jennifer

Finally an update

Two brothers bonding....oh how sweet is that?
Can you say R-E-G-R-E-S-S-I-O-N??
First bath at just over 1 week old. He LOVED it more than he loves that thumb!!
Getting his hair washed
My sweet baby boy at one month old...he's getting so big and alert and oh my it's going by so fast!