Two “big” events

Two “big” things have happened in the last week.  They aren’t technically BIG but in our boring lives, I would consider them big….

1. Campbell had his 9 month appt on March 22, 2011…It’s a little late (he was 9 months on March 3rd) because of him being sick.  Dr. Slusher wanted him to finish his antibiotic before coming back in….that way we could check his ears to make sure that the medicine did it’s job.  His ears were clear of infection but were both filled with fluid which is just a setup for another infection.  We have been referred to Dr. Neal and have an appt. on April 8th.  I suspect we will follow the same plan as Trigger which was to see Dr. Neal…wait for another ear infection, come in, and have tubes put in.  BUT, I am not an ENT so I could be wrong.  All I know is that I am TIRED of dealing with ear infections…in case you were counting, Campbell has had four since December and Trigger has had 8 (maybe 9) since October….In the last SIX months, someone in this household has had an ear infection. YUCK!!!  Anyway, back to C’s appt…Let me share his stats which are not true 9 month stats but more like 9.5 months.  I’m gonna give you percents from  my app…they are a little different that Dr. Slushers (I think she uses Amer Academy of Ped…and mine uses some world something).

Weight: 18 lbs. 7 oz. (13th percentile).  Dr. Slusher said that he probably would never be one of her big kids but he was growing on his curve…poor child…guess he’ll be petite! Time will tell!

Height: 28.5 inches (48th percentile)

Head Circumference: I’ll have to look that up and add in a minute…it’s not in my app for some reason.  I can tell you that he has a little peanut head like his momma and definitely NOT like his daddy!

Dr. Slusher checked him over really good…she said everything looked good EXCEPT that his maxillary labial frenum (the piece of tissue connecting his upper lip and his gum) is “thick”.  I had never noticed it but it’s so far down that it’s between his front middle two teeth so they will not grow together (leaving him with a gap).  He will most likely have to have it cut when he gets older…probably when he gets permanent teeth.  It can cause speech and feeding problems.  I have noticed that Campbell doesn’t make a complete fish face when nursing and here lately, it’s been kind of painful to nurse him…it feels as if his top teeth are constantly digging into me.  It makes sense now because he can’t really bring his lip away from his teeth too much.  That was the biggest news of the appointment.  She asked me about vitamins…and I had to tell her that he gets them occasionally…and by occasionally, I mean like maybe 5 times…I HATE vitamins…I know they are good for them but those liquid ones are just gross.  PLUS, Campbell has already been a challenging child to feed and I’m not rocking that boat by shoving something in his mouth that is disgusting.  So, I asked if we could start using flinstone vitamins and flouride pills (like Trigger does) and just crush them and put in his food.  She said that was an odd request but she didn’t mind at all…THEN, I reminded her that the reason we did that with Trigger is because Flinstones have b6, b12, and folic acid which will help cover them if they happened to have my crazy blood clotting disorders.  After the reminder, she completely agreed that we needed to switch Campbell!  She also asked me about iron…UGH…the DREADED IRON…when Trigger was little, Dr. Slusher had us have him tested at every appointment…I don’t know if it was because he was a preemie or what but Trigger had low iron so he had to take supplements which stained his teeth.  Thankfully, after lots of scrubbing, you can’t really tell now.  Well, she sent us to have C’s tested…and guess what?!?!  HE HAS LOW IRON.  UGH…so we have the stupid iron supplements.  I already skipped the first night.  Tonight, I attempted to put them in his rice cereal.  It smelled awful and turned his cereal brownish black so just imagine what it is doing to my baby’s teeth.  :(  I’ll try my best but he only ate a few bites.  Dr. Slusher also told us to start Campbell on Zyrtec.  His nose is running even after finishing an antibiotic so they are thinking it is more allergies than it is a cold because colds do NOT last that long! Oh and Campbell also got his second flu shot.  I realize it’s a little late but this way he will only have to get one shot next year since he got his series of two this year!  THE best part is that Campbell did not cry when he got his flu shot…AND he did NOT cry when getting his blood drawn.  WHAT a big boy!!!  We will have to go back to have blood drawn in 6 weeks to check iron levels and then we will not have to go back until Campbell’s 1 year check-up.  That makes me SO sad!  However, I am pretty sure we will be in that office before then!  In fact, just this week, I have been to green clinic FOUR times (Mon-Trigger pre-op, Tues- Campbell 9 month,  Wed- Trigger tubes, and Thurs- Me bp checkup).

2. Trigger got his first set of tubes this week (Wednesday, March 23).  I will have to do a post about this later with a few pictures but I just wanted to have documentation of the date!

This week has COMPLETELY worn me out so I’m off to pump and to bed!  Trigger is coughing his head off so I don’t know how long it will be before I have to go back there.

I will leave you with ONE picture and it’s not even of my boys. 

Okay…so is this not the greatest.  You may not understand it’s greatness so let me explain.  The other night, I was playing with my camera and lighting after the boys had gone to bed and Matt had gone back to work.  I didn’t even realize really what I was capturing until I uploaded the pictures to my computer.  THIS, besides my children and Matt, IS MY LIFE these days.  My pump is like my good ole friend that is there to relieve me of pain every morning and night.  Coke Zero:  I usually have one near to help me make it thru the day!  On the left, there are two monitors.  Trigger’s is not so fancy. Campbell’s is the angelcare monitor.  We have another angelcare monitor for Trigger but we used it in the cradle when Campbell was first born and we just never put it back in Trigger’s room.  And let’s not forget my iphone that is propped up on top of the pump.  It is my lifeline to the real world.  It goes with me everywhere!  Anyway, let me summarize my life: I am constantly breastfeeding/pumping, watching after boys, checking my phone and drinking a coke zero…now if only there were a package of wipes because I feel like that’s the one other thing that I do all day: change diapers!  I just thought that picture was a PERFECT way to remember this time in my life!

Campbell- 9 MONTHS!

It’s so hard for me to believe that Campbell is 9 months old.  If I dwell on it long, I really might crumble.  I know this is a constant theme in my blog posts but I am constantly amazed at how fast these babies are growing up.  I truly makes me want another baby RIGHT now but I’m just not sure which path God will take us…we shall see!

What is Campbell doing these days?

Campbell is a pretty laid back baby…FINALLY!!!!  The poor baby has to take a back seat most of the time because his big brother is the big bad two year old that is constantly melting down.  haha!  Actually today has been a phenomenal day which probably means someone is getting sick.

Okay, back to Campbell! Let’s start out with the most important thing!

SLEEP: You are sleeping all night and have been for awhile..even though if you ask your daddy, he will completely disagree.  I am not sure why he thinks that you aren’t sleeping all night.  I guess he is thinking about when you are sick…which has been a lot lately!  When you have an ear infection, you wake up some during the night but other than that, you sleep good.  You go to bed around 7:30 but would really like to be asleep before then.  That seems to be the earliest we can get you and your brother in bed…we are working on that though!  You are taking two naps on days when we are home.  Your morning nap is usually around 9 and your afternoon nap is around 1.  You usually sleep for about an hour and a half for each.  I have gotten to where I can rock you just for a few minutes and put you in your crib.  Sometimes I have to come back in to make  you lay back down.  When I do this, it TICKS YOU OFF!  and you will lay on your tummy, crying, and sucking your fingers, AND KICKING YOUR right foot up and down on the bed.  I guess this is your protest to me not picking you up!  At bedtime, I nurse you and that makes you very drowsy.  I rock you for a minute and put you down in your crib and you go to sleep.  You almost never wake up happy.  You start screaming as soon as you wake up. :(  I’m ready for you to wake up talking and playing.

Feeding:  I am still nursing you four times a day (and sometimes a snack before supper).  Our  nursing schedule is usually something like this (but is all determined by your wake up time), 7:00, 11:00, 3:00, (sometimes snack at 530), and 7:00.  As I have said before, it took us forever to get you to nurse exclusively…I feel like we have just gotten you there (at 5 months) and I’m not near ready to stop! :) You still click when I nurse you but not nearly as bad.  You usually nurse for about 10 minutes.  There are times when it is inconvenient like when we are in the car!  But, I wouldn’t trade it! It is mighty nice to not have to wash bottles, nipples, and all of dr. brown’s parts!  I have been working on getting Campbell to take a sippy (with a straw) cup but he doesn’t really have a desire.  I have started consistently feeding Campbell breakfast and supper.  He gets half of a container of fruit for breakfast and a few tablespoons of oatmeal…we never gave Trigger oatmeal as a baby and I’m not really sure why.  For Supper, he gets one container of vegetables and probably about 4-5 tablespoons of rice cereal.  He really isn’t a great eater.  Trigger loved everything we put in front of him; Campbell gags at everything we give him.  He now tolerates vegetables and rice cereal.  He HATES oatmeal (but I’m working on it) and is not really a fan of fruit.  CRAZY!!!!!  I thought all babies liked fruit.  Trigger’s OT watched me feeding Campbell and said that he may be a sensory baby…SERIOUSLY?  Surely not!  Apparently the textures in fruit are greater than in vegetables.  Who knows…all I know is that I’m not sure where he came from if he doesn’t like to eat! HAHA!

I love, love this little smile!!!!  AND, I can’t believe that I have another baby with beautiful blue eyes…like bright, bright blue eyes!!!!  On a side note, my eyes have always been blue (more gray/blue).  In the last couple of years, they have changed some.  Here lately I have noticed that my eyes don’t really look blue anymore.  In fact, THEY ARE GREEN…like not blue, GREEN!!!  I didn’t know your eyes could change late in life.  Guess it was having babies…since with each pregnancy my hair did get darker and darker!!!  Who knows what will happen to my eyes and hair if I had another baby!

You can’t really tell it from these pictures but Campbell has really long lashes.  I really don’t notice it a lot but ive several people (in just the last couple of weeks) comment on how long his eye lashes are!  Too bad I don’t have them! Teeth:  Campbell now has SIX teeth.  In just the last few weeks, he has gotten in two more teeth. 

Campbell is waving bye-bye and clapping on command.  In fact, if he sees someone leaving, he usually starts waving.  I just love when babies clap and wave.  I think it’s adorable.  He is still pulling up on everything and is now cruising from one piece of furniture to another.  We often find Campbell crawling on his hands and feet (instead of knees).  He can even stand for a few seconds on his own.  You can tell by his facial expressions that it makes him nervous to stand without assistance!  Campbell has also been making motor boat sounds…well, he’s been doing this for awhile.  BUT, Trigger has this obsession with Matt’s blower.  He will get toys out of his playroom and pretend that he is blowing the leaves and makes the motor boat sound.  Campbell will hear him and immediately joins in. 

I’m in love with Campbell and Trigger’s relationship.  I think its just precious…even when it usually involves a lot of screaming and yelling.  Campbell is pretty much okay with playing and being out of my arms as long as Trigger is somewhere close.    It is so different with a second child…some things are easier and some things are harder.  My favorite thing so far is that Campbell has entertainment in watching Trigger.  It is funny to me though because as much as Campbell loves watching Trigger and having Trigger near him, he does NOT want to be bothered by Trigger.  If Trigger tries to hug him or kiss him, Campbell SCREAMS.  Maybe it is fear on Campbell’s part…and I wouldn’t blame him for that…Trigger has hurt him quite a few times..like just the other day when I was changing Campbell’s diaper, Trigger walked up to Campbell and just kicked the daylights out of Campbell’s head.  I was so irritated with Trigger…What would possess him to just walk up and kick his brother?!?!  Their relationship is already so special and I know it will only grow to be even stronger!!

I think I have already mentioned this but Campbell is a serious little fella.  He’s a hard audience.  The songs and dance don’t work on them like they did/do work on Trigger.  Trigger is sooooo easy to get him to smile…he is VERY easily amused!!!!!  like his daddy.  Campbell, on the other hand, has made the face above for awhile now…that is his “im not giving you a smile” face.  He is a thinker…or maybe he’s just stubborn which would mean that Campbell (unfortunately) might be a little like me! ;)  Campbell is obsessed with cords, electrical outlets, and anything else that is dangerous.  I have started saying “no” firmly but have also popped his hand a few times.  Trigger, of course, thought it was grand that his brother was getting in trouble and decided to take the discipline on himself this morning when Trigger was playing with a nightlight.  I explained to Trigger that Matt and I are the only ones to discipline but I would love for him to come tell me when Campbell was doing something dangerous.  Thankfully, the rest of the morning, Trigger has yelled for me each time! 

I absolutely love this picture above!!!! 

Campbell is an absolute joy!   I can’t imagine life without him!!!  I am very thankful that God chose me to be his momma!!!

Kelly’s Kids and Fun with Friends

This is going back a ways…

Whew, Saturday, February 12th, was a busy, busy day!  Liz and I had decided to go to the Kelly’s kids sale.  I woke up around 430, got ready to go, woke up campbell, fed him, and got out the door.  I went to get in my car that I had packed the night before and was going to head to pick up Liz.  HOWEVER, my car would NOT start…GREAT timing!!!!  So, I went inside and called Liz.  She drove over to our house and picked me and Campbell up.  Of course Campbell had to go because he’s still nursing and refusing any kind of bottle or sippy cup!!!  We got on the rode and got there right after the doors had opened.  We didn’t have to wait in line long to get in.  I was pleasantly surprised by the experience.  I got some good deals.  However, I must say that if you have a girl, I would be dying to go next year!!!!  Like anything else with boys, it was good and I got some stuff but not NEARLY as much or as cute as the girl stuff!  Here are the things I got…minus a couple of outfits (somehow those weren’t in the pile that I took a picture of). 

These are Trigger’s clothes…the funny thing is that I went with the intention of buying for Campbell but ended  up buying more for Trigger.  AND, some of these things he might be wearing in Jr. high because I bought what I thought was cute, in the size they had and figure he would wear them eventually!  I’m really kidding about jr. high but one jacket was a size 8. 

Here are Campbell’s clothes.  I absolutely LOVE the green/blue plaid bubble on the bottom right.  I LOVE bubbles!!!!!

  Anyway, a few weeks ago we had some friends over for supper.  We really like to have friends over and would do it more often if our children were well!  Maybe this summer we will be able to have more people over and relax. And, get lots of play time on the playset. Since we really NEVER get to have adult company, I decided to fix a yummy meal…AND because I never get to fix this because Matt is allergic!  Our menu was: crawfish pasta, french bread, caesar salad, AND homemade red velvet cheesecake.  I don’t know if everyone else liked it but I did.  haha!  I really don’t like making that cheesecake but it always tastes soooo good.  AND, it was the Friday before Valentines so I thought it was appropriate to have something red! 

Trigger, Tucker Patterson, and Nolan Hogan playing in the playroom.  I’m guessing that Campbell and Rhett were being held.

Trigger and TuckerCampbell was ready to eat…he was quite fussy after missing his morning nap to go shopping with me and zizzy.  By the way,  he did awesome!!!Check out Matt’s plate, he had to eat what was on the kid’s menu (chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and corn on the cob).Trigger and Tucker eating their supper.Gabe decided to do a little modeling for us.  He’s a natural.Heather (and Rhett), Me (Campbell), and Amy (Nolan).  Daddies and their boys!Nolan and Campbell (who was NOT an a happy mood)They are only a month apart…I think they are going to be BEST friends.  I know I have said this before but Trigger LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Gabe and Amy.  In fact, the other day (and I haven’t told this to you yet, Amy), we were headed home from Zizzy’s house and Trigger started whining and crying and saying he didn’t want to go home.  I asked him where we he wanted to go and he responded, “Gabe and Amy’s new house”.  And, he started crying when I told him we couldn’t.  He sure loves yall!!!! 

That Saturday completely wiped me out!  but it was OH SOOOO fun!!!

This pretty much sums it up…

 

I really can’t blame Campbell…this is pretty much how I feel these days too!Mr. Campbell had to make ANOTHER trip to green clinic today.  He has ear infection NUMBER FOUR (since December) for him…that makes 11 ear infections that campbell and trigger have had this winter.  I seriously do NOT understand!  It’s just so aggravating and it just makes me want to scream…so really I think these pictures are JUST perfect for this post. 

We just finished an antibiotic Wednesday night…and Campbell had fever Friday night.  I mean do we just need to stay on an antibiotic throughout the entire winter?!?  Dr. Slusher even told me that she was frustrated that another (left ear this time) ear was infected that quickly after an antibiotic. 

And, to top it off, Matt was sick (fever, aches, etc) all weekend and is actually still NOT feeling good at all.  This is completely selfish but I was so tired from dealing with Trigger being sick all week last week and then Campbell starting fever on Friday.  I just really wanted a little bit of a break or a little help this weekend.  However, that did NOT happen because Matt was sick.  I’m just ready for busy season to be over AND for spring/summer to be here so my boys can be well!!!!! 

Here is hoping that we will NOT visit Green Clinic again this week OR next.  However, Trigger went to MDO today so I told Dr. Slusher to expect us around Thursday afternoon or Friday…she laughed!

BTW, we were suppose to take Campbell next tuesday for his 9 month well check…he turned 9 months on March 3rd.  However, because of Campbell’s ear infection/antibiotic, Dr. Slusher wanted us to wait a week so that we can re-check his ears too.  If his ears aren’t clear, he will make a trip upstairs to Dr. Neal.

When they weighed Campbell today (at 9 months and 5 days), he was 18 lbs 5oz.  According to my FAVORITE APP (Baby Connect), he is in the 15th percentile for weight…he’s dropped a little on his curve so we will see what Dr. Slusher says about that at his well check.  For those of you that are anal like me, you really need the baby connect app.  It is absolutely awesome.  I enter the boys height and weight everytime we visit the dr….it charts their growth for me.  You can email the charts. 

Here are Campbell’s that I just emailed to myself so I could put them on here!  There are two different views to choose from:

Isn’t that great.  AND, if you are super anal (which apparently I am not because I don’t use these features), you can track feeding schedules, diaper changes, sleep, moods, activity, medical (weight/height/medicine/vaccines/health/temperature/head size), milestones, photos, etc.  It truly is amazing.  I wish I had documented more on there.  Oh well….I can’t be perfect!  haha!

Occasionally…

Trigger does NOT do what we ask him to do…and occasionally,  he says “NO”…and on those occasions he gets in trouble…and sometimes we have to get creative with our punishment.  After Matt had told trigger to come inside several times, Matt went all Kevin Lemmen on Trigger…and this is what I saw when I walked out of the kitchen.

Trigger was locked outside.  Now, Matt was standing close so he could watch.  Trigger did exactly as lemmen said he’d do, he cried and wanted to come in.  As parents, we HAVE to be creative sometimes…just to keep them on their toes!

NOTE: you can change ALL the “occasionally” to “every hour”…or maybe “every few minutes”. :)

Sometimes…

Trigger has gotten to where he starts his excuses with “sometimes…” and it’s very drawn out!  He also still says “pisses” instead of “kisses”; “walmark” instead of “walmart”

AND, my most favorite thing this week that he has said is, “Cow juice”.  We do not have juice at our house NOR do we have chocolate milk.  Trigger is only allowed a cup of milk at each meal and then he drinks water the rest of the day.  Well, zizzy has other options that she sneaks in.  A few days ago, we were over there and I asked him what he wanted to drink and he said, “umm…ummm…I want cow juice”.  he was referring to chocolate milk.  haha! my poor deprived boy!

anyway, back the post…SOMETIMES…

we have a rough time between the hours of 4 and 7 (between nap and bedtime).  It all hinges on whether or not the boys have had good naps throughout the day.  Well, these two particular days were obviously not good napping days…and I think they may have been sick (I can’t remember..the illnesses just all run together these days!).  Anyhow, I always try to capture our everyday lives so that I can remember the everyday stuff!

Trigger thought that Campbell really needed help with the xylophone…Campbell did NOT agree.  Check out the next picture…it’s like he’s showing it off, saying “ha…look mom…I got it!”Sorry…no makeup…it’s my blog and I can do what I want…and if that means I scare you, so be it…haha!  I’m only kidding!Guess who didn’t want to take a picture…I mean is it really worth all of that crying?!?!and if brother cries, guess who wants to join in…oh wait…nothing a couple of fingers can’t fix!  did you notice how I’m smiling the entire time.  I’m not gonna have a ugly cry face (that’s from oprah) for my pictures.  haha!This is downright WRONG!  why did I do this to my children.  they will live!I love this picture below…Trigger has a sly little smile and Campbell is NOT happy!

and another day…the boys were playing in the kitchen while I was trying to cook…the were acting very needy and really wanting me to play…so I stopped cooking and sat on the floor to play.  I figure that I will be wishing very soon that they were still at my feet in the kitchen wanting me to play…so I should probably take advantage of it.Trigger playing “peek-a- bye”…that would be what he says instead of peek-a-boo.Look at that mess that I am ignoring to PLAY!We were cleaning  up after supper and I told Trigger to go put his boots by the door and to put them side by side.  I came around the corner to see that this is what he had done.  I thought it was pretty smart…he definitely can be an out of the box thinker. I think these last ones were suppose to be on the post with Campbell’s facial expressions but you can enjoy them now! :)

I truly do love our everyday life!  It may be chaotic but I do love spending my days home with these two precious boys!