Our "Weekend"

This week was Brian's last Sunday-Monday "weekend." He'll work through Labor Day next week, and the following weekend is the last weekend that the park is open. We are super excited to have Daddy around for 3 days weekends soon!

Sunday was a pretty laid back day. Brian had some yard work to do (okay, 5 hours of yard work to do), and then he had to clean the pool. I spent the day going through clothes and packing. We have so much stuff, and I can easily get rid of some of it. Especially my stuff. I'm not saying that I'm a fashionista, but I used to spend a pretty significant amount of money buying clothes. And now most of them don't fit. And if they did fit, I probably wouldn't wear them anyway (I mean, they're old, out of style clothes).

But I can't get rid of the kids stuff yet. We're planning to have more kids, and we'll want the clothes for future babies. At least, theoretically we will. I have a feeling that our future kids will end up wearing more new clothes than recycled clothes, but I'm hanging on to them anyway. And I'd also really like to have a quilt made for each kid out of their baby clothes. And there are some little dresses that Reese has that I think would be adorable for her to save and put on her little girl one day. Even if it's just to compare pictures. But I have taken all that stuff and moved it to storage. Or packed it to move to storage anyway.

On Sunday we went out for ice cream at Handel's. We decided we would celebrate the fact that it had been a year since Reese was able to breathe on her own, and the fact that it had been a year since we'd held her. Wyatt had a blast, and Reese loves some ice cream!

He is so funny eating his own ice cream cone!
Brian and the kids

She tired here, but her eyes are so blue!

Holding Our Baby!

A year ago today Reese was extubated and came off of the ventilator! I was finally able to hold our baby girl for the first time since her birth. I think the pictures say it all!

Laughing

Last year at this time we were obviously going through a pretty tough time. I'd been released from the hospital, and we'd left Reese there in the NICU.

But while we were completely down, we were also thankful that our friends and family recognized that we wanted to laugh a little too and be normal. My brother let me know how disgusting he thought the whole "pumping" process was (especially when I did it at my parents house!). Our friends came and visited us and told us jokes. And when Brian went back to work after taking 4 days off (during the summer! While the park was open!), he found his office a little rearranged....

Brian's Mickey Mantle photo replaced with a picture of some Phillies player.
Dave's face covering Brian's....

Oh! Look who's name is on the door.

The Yankees trash can replaces by a "Phillies" logo.

And Dave sitting at Brian's desk.

Brian called me laughing hysterically after he saw this, and I have to admit it was pretty funny. Even though Dave broke a cardinal rule and touched Brian's stuff. And went in Brian's office. And it looks pretty clean, so Dave probably did that too.

Fortunately for Dave, he didn't touch anything Star Wars related, and he kept his hands off of Noelle's stuff....

Reese's 12 Month Well Baby Check Up!

Brian and I took Reese to her Well Baby check up yesterday. It was a lot of fun for us to just be able to hang out with her. She was talking up a storm, and she had so much fun exploring the office while we waited for the doctor.

She is now 22 pounds, 13 ounces, 29.25 inches long and her head circumference is 18.5! That puts her in the 78th percentile for weight, 62nd for height, and 93rd for head size! She is a big girl.

She wasn't a fan of the doctor visit, but she did enjoy his rolly chair and the door stop! We've never actually taken the camera to the doctor's office before, but I'm glad we did yesterday because she was in SUCH a good mood. I think it was because she had Daddy and Mommy all to herself!

Look at this door stop!
Just hanging out

Nakey baby smiling at Daddy!

So they started playing hide and seek

And doesn't every baby love the rolly chair?

Reese's Birthday!

We all had a really fun time yesterday. We watched the Sunny Side Up Show on Sprout to see if Reese's birthday card made it on, but it didn't. We figure they'd rather put up pictures of kids who actually KNOW that they're on TV...putting her card on would just be for us!

Brian went to work for his morning meeting and then came back home so that he would be here at 10:07. He went back to work soon after, and the kids and I hung out and played until naptime. After naps we loaded up in the car and went to pick Daddy up from work so that we could go to NICU. A lot of really special people took care of her there and we will always be grateful that they cared about her so much, and that they wanted her to get better just as much as we did!

Like Kari (who admitted her), Nicky (who took care of her almost every day), and Fallon (who also took care of her a few times).

And Ethel, who was with her most nights!

None of her "main nurses" were there yesterday, but we still took them some yummy cookies and a thank you card with a picture of Reese. They told us Ethel would be there last night, so I hope they saved her some cookies!

With Mommy in front of the NICU
And here she is with Daddy!

After we went to NICU we took Brian back to work and we came home. Once Brian came home we all went to "the Big Red Robin" for dinner. The restaurant has received some pretty rave reviews from a promising (picky) young eater. A few of his quotes are "Grilled cheese! Mommy I love it!," and "Mmm mmm mmm mmm...it's perfect!"

Brian's parents came over for presents and cake (my parents were partying hard at the Kenny Loggins concert. My brothers and sister and I gave my Dad tickets for Father's Day). Reese had a lot of fun opening her presents and eating cake. I was exhausted by this point in the day! And I promise you, because I've been asked multiple times, I am NOT pregnant again :)!

Reese loves her Strawberry Shortcake doll. And I think that might be her Halloween costume...

Brian and I roamed Toys R Us for awhile trying to find the perfect present for her. It's harder for us to find her presents for a couple reasons.

1. We have a lot of toys already

2. We have a better idea now of the right things to buy for her age

3. We wanted to get her something she would love.

And she LOVES this little laptop. I had something else in my hands, but when I saw this, I knew it was for her. She loves anything with buttons!

Wyatt singing Happy Birthday and Reese clapping along!

"This cake is so chocolatey! I need milk Mama!"

She eats very properly, spoon and all

Sharing her cake with Daddy!

Reese is One!

Reese is one today! I'm working on a longer post for later, but wanted to share some pictures of her from this morning.

Eating her birthday blueberry muffin!

Here she was at 10:07am a year ago!

And these are from 10:07am today when she turned one!

Pulling the bow out of her hair....

And another attempt to get that bow

A picture with Daddy!

Newborn

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months
Six Months

Seven Months & Seven Months in Pictures
Eight Months

Nine Months
Ten Months

Eleven Months

Tomorrow

Since tomorrow is Reese's birthday, I thought I would re-post my update announcing her birth.

Our precious little angel Reese Lynn was born on Monday morning at 10:07 am. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and is 20 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and she looks like her big brother!

So, that's all the good news. Reese was doing some grunting as soon as she was born and once she was taken to the nursery it was decided that she has some breathing problems and needed to go to the NICU. At that point they decided her breathing problems were due to either an infection (less likely) or the fact that since she was born via C Section, that she hadn't had the opportunity to squeeze all the amniotic fluid out while traveling down the birth canal. This isn't uncommon in C Section babies.

She's been in the NICU since Monday. At first they treated her with "blow by" Oxygen, where they set up a bag valve mask in her bassinet so she could breathe in more Oxygen. Then she was placed in an Oxygen hood that allowed her to breathe in pure Oxygen. That didn't work, so she was placed on C-PAP which basically means that they hooked her up to a machine that would blow air into her lungs in an attempt to let the fluids out and to let the avioli in the lungs start doing their job. She seemed to be responding to the C-PAP well, but this morning they told us that they needed to intubate her and give her Surfactin, which will hopefully rid her of this and have her breathing on her own in the next few days. The reason that they held off on this is because they didn't want to intubate if they didn't have to.

It's mostly been a waiting game for us. I'm recovering OK, and I'm still waiting to see my doctor this morning to find out if I can stay on more night or if I have to leave her today. Brian briefly held her after she was born, but I haven't been able to. I've been pumping a lot to get her some colostrum and to get my milk in. Reese is on a feeding tube so she hasn't had any milk yet. It's also a struggle for me to get down to the NICU because of the C Section so I've been down about twice a day for 45 minutes each.

The whole process has been overwhelming for all of us. It's definitely not what we were expecting and the detachment from our Baby girl has been hard, especially not being able to even hold her. We would appreciate if you kept us all in your thoughts and prayers, but especially Reese. Just pray for her to be able to breathe on her own and to be able to come off all the machines,for her to pick up eating on her own quickly (hopefully via breast) and for her to be released from the hospital and sent home early next week.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I can't post them from the computer in my room. If we go home today I might post some, but in all honesty, I'm really hoping that we don't go home yet.

Lazy Day!

We've had a pretty lazy day today! I got to sleep in this morning (until 7:30!), and then we all just kind of hung out together all day. I got some packing done and did some storage unit research. I've done a lot of laundry. But other than that...not much has been going around here!

But that doesn't mean the kids haven't had a lot of fun all day!

Reese made an attempt to eat her yogurt with a spoon by herself....and then she tried to drink it.
Wyatt went for a swim with Daddy (he begged to go out there)....

and ended up floating around with a drink in his hand!

Reese went for a ride on her horsie!

And the kids are playing together! This has become more common over the last few weeks. They tend to play really well together, which I'm very thankful for!

And then Reese helped me empty the dishwasher. This little girl loves to help me do things! She can be in another room, and as soon as she hears dishes clinking together she comes in the kitchen to "help." She also loves to help me take clothes out of the dryer!

Yesterday I made a pretty big switch. I decided to try Target's new Up & Up brand of diapers. Wyatt still isn't too big in potty training and spending $60 on diapers is killing me. I've used Pampers Swaddlers or Cruisers since Wyatt was born (I tried Huggies and I hated them...he peed through them all the time), and I decided I would try them with Reese since she needed diapers yesterday. So far, so good! She even slept in one last night with no leaks! My only issue is that I bought her a size 4, the same size she's been wearing in Pampers, and these seem a little big. But they were almost $5 cheaper, which in the long run will save a ton of money!

Brian went to get some Firehouse Subs for dinner which I am excited about because I love that place! Our master plan for tonight is to put the kids to bed (early because neither of them napped well today), and then watch the final Yankees/Red Sox game of the weekend. Hopefully we can pull out a win tonight!

I'm also hoping to get some more work done on Reese's birthday banner. I'm taking pictures as I go so that I can share them with you when I'm all done!

Happy Birthday Katie!

Yesterday was Katie's 15th birthday! The kids and I went to the mall first thing to get her a gift card for Hollister. Let me tell you this: I will never go in that store again. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I hated it. It stinks. It's too dark. And I'm pretty sure they don't want Moms or handicapped people in there anyway. They have stairs that lead up to the front of the shop, and the handicap door (which Moms with strollers also have to use) was nearly impossible to find!

After Hollister we went to Gymboree. They were having a 30% off sale, so I got Reese some really cute outfits for the fall and winter. I looked in her closet last week and realized I'm poorly prepared to take her into the colder months. So I took advantage of the sale. I love Gymboree clothes for Reese, but I'm not a big fan of them for Wyatt. I like him in shorts or jeans with little Coastal Edge shirts and stuff. I would never dream of putting him in little rompers or anything. Brian never would have let it happen to begin with!

We came home so the kids could nap and then we went to my parents house for dinner. Wyatt woke up from his nap and said "Hi Mommy! I love cupcakes!" My dad made yummy lasagna and we had ice cream cake. Wyatt wanted to blow out Katie's candles, so we let him have a turn. He was going to stay and have a sleepover at my parents' house, but at the last minute he chickened out and decided to come home with me.

Brian got home about the same time that we did and we hung a bit before bed. Reese is getting so good at walking around lately! She even joins in when the boys go on chases through the house. She usually lags way behind, but she really loves it.

After bedtime last night I started working on Reese's homemade birthday banner for her party. It's looking pretty cute so far, but it's only about 1/3 done, so we'll have to see. I'll show you the pictures later!

Reese loves garlic bread!
And lasagna! But she also loves sharing her food with the dogs!

Lighting Katie's candles

Trying to help Katie blow out her candles. After this we re-lit them so Wyatt could have a turn!

Ice Cream Man!

So "Unca T" is working on our roof this week. Last night after he was finished, the ice cream man came around the neighborhood and he took Wyatt out to pick out some ice cream. Since it was Wyatt's first time getting ice cream off the truck, I had to take pictures!

Wyatt and Uncle T picking out what he wants
Wyatt was really excited....

And he settled on the Rocket Pop, which is what Brian liked the most when he was little. Apparently they're two peas in a pod!

And this is the final product. I could not get that blue off! He looked like a Smurf!

Colin's also come over and played with the kids two of the three days and they love it! Wyatt really loves his big cousin, and Colin is so good and sweet with Reese. He's obviously had a lot of practice with Piper, but I think it's funny sometimes to see Colin and Reese playing together while Wyatt is off by himself!

On a TV note, I was so excited to watch Flipping Out the other night. I love it! I was able to watch the Top Chef Masters Finale last night, but I didn't get around to watching Top Chef Vegas. Boo to Rick Bayless winning! I was really pulling for Hubert Keller or Michael Chiarello. I am super stoked for Project Runway tonight! I love that show!

I Don't Wednesday!

It's Time for I Don't Wednesday!

• Let's see...I don't want to address all these envelopes for Reese's birthday party, but I'm doing it because I can't wait to celebrate her birthday. And the invitations are sooooo precious. I got these from Shutterfly...and I love them! Her party is going to be green and pink polka dots. So cute!
• I don't like when my husband isn't home much! Yesterday he went golfing after work and then had the rare opportunity to go to the movies with some friends (to see District 9, which I have no interest in seeing). I miss him tons, but the kids miss him more! The number of times I heard "I want my Daddy, Momma," last night was ridiculous!
• I don't know why, but I get urge to sing "I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately..." everytime I do this!
• I don't think I'm watching Dancing with the Stars this year. I've taken a hiatus the last two seasons, and I'm pretty sure I'm done with that show. I'm not sure some of those people qualify as "stars" anyway.
• I don't want cold weather to come! We're probably about a month and a half from cooler temperatures here, but I don't want it. So no thank you Fall, please stay away! (Although I am totally planning the kids Halloween costumes!)
• I don't want Reese's first birthday to come next week! My baby girl is getting so big! As you can see, I'm having mixed emotions about it.
• I don't know what we're going to do if the house is still on the market in December. I can't stand the idea of not going all out for Christmas, especially the first one where both kids will have some grasp of what's going on. I'm really hoping we can sell quickly!

So join in the fun! Make your own list, and add it into MckLinky on Jenna's Blog!

A Year Ago

With Reese's first birthday approaching (NEXT TUESDAY), I decided I would look back at some pictures from a year ago before she was born. I came across this picture and I don't recognize this fat girl. I'm trying to figure out who my family went to the zoo with!

Oh wait...that's me. 38 weeks pregnant. And huge. I would even say enormous. Someone so large, that if they rolled over your phone it would need CPR. But I wouldn't recommend you say any of that.

There are a lot of emotions wrapped around Reese's first birthday next week. A year ago I would have told that girl not to have the baby at 39 weeks. Hold out until 40 weeks and then let them perform the C Section. You can't even begin to imagine what it's like to have a baby in the NICU until it's you. Until it's your baby on the vent. I don't like to think about it, but I know that her birthday is going to bring back those memories. I desperately want this to be a happy time, a celebration of her birthday, but I still worry that I'm going to be thinking about the fact that I sat in the recovery room so excited to hold my baby, not knowing that it would take almost a week before that time came. I'll be thinking about how terrible it must have been for Brian to have to come tell me that I wasn't going to get to see or hold our baby girl. That she couldn't breathe on her own. I'll be thinking "This is the day she went on C-PAP," or "Today is the day that she was vented." I think on the thirtieth I might actually be able to celebrate because that will be the day my baby girl started breathing on her own and was in the clear!

And I also feel like these feelings are a little ridiculous. A little self indulgent. I mean, my baby girl came through her beginning of life struggles. I read about this sweet baby girl named Reese last week. She was born in a coma and went to Heaven. I don't know if it's the fact that our girls' share a name, but it really affected me. This sweet family lost their little Reese. And it just hurts me to think about. Keep them in your prayers as they go through an incredibly difficult time.

Just Crazy, Chaotic Moving Stuff

So the reason for the lack of posts since last Wednesday is just shear craziness involving the move. Brian and I knew that the painter was going to come last week, but we weren't entirely sure which day he was starting, or where he was starting. He came on Thursday morning to get started, and they ended up prepping all three rooms the first day (there was dust, paint and things covered everywhere). While I was at work I got a phone call that the kids needed to get out of the house and organized where they would go until I was done with work.

After work both days I picked the kids up and took them to my parents house. It was gross so we couldn't go out and play, but we had family in town and they loved hanging out there. Wyatt especially had a great time with my little cousin Madison.

Fortunately, all the painting is done. The kitchen, foyer, dining room (which is our playroom), and the spare bedroom were all painted. We went with neutral colors in all the rooms except the kitchen which is green. It's the same color as before, but it needed some touching up. We could have gone neutral in there as well, but the green looks really great with the tile. Plus, it's the only room downstairs that isn't off white.

The fence and the cement were also pressure washed, and the difference is amazing. They're coming back out this week to pressure wash the front of the house and the front fence, and paint the front door. I think it's going to be awesome. T is going to come and start our roof tomorrow, and we have our new storm door coming as well. I'll post pictures of everything later on this week.

I'm going to pick up boxes today and we'll hopefully get everything in storage this week so we can get this house on the market. I am so excited to sell this place and find our new home it's ridiculous. McMommy's post on backyard independence totally hit home the other day. I want to find a place where my kids can run around and have fun, not a place where I have to worry about extra door locks and pools. I really like this house, it's just not conducive to us as a family, but I know we'll find just the right place!

And on a side note...I am so stoked that Flipping Out and Project Runway start this week. I LOVE Jeff Lewis and all his OCD ways, and I have been having Project Runway withdrawals since last season ended!

I Don't! And Reese's Birthday Card

She made it on SproutOnline! Now she just has to make the show! Only two weeks until her birthday!

Okay and now it's time for a special getting ready to put your house on the market I Don't Wednesday!

• I don't want to go carry more storage bins from the extra bedroom. But the painter's coming tomorrow, so it has to be done!

• I don't want to go to the Home Depot this afternoon and pick up the paint that matches the kitchen and the playroom (we're leaving them the same color, they're just getting new coats), but I suppose I have to do that too!

• I still don't know when we're going to have Reese's birthday party! This just is not a good time of year for Brian's work. But I'm determined to set the date and get the ball rolling. My baby girl is only going to turn one once!

• I don't know how we're going to get 5 years of stuff packed up and moved out of this house. Okay - 5 years of accumulation. A lot of the stuff is way older than 5 years old!

• Finally, I don't know how well the kids are going to nap over the next week! Between painting and the new roof, I have a feeling things might be a little loud...but I guess we'll have to see!

The Aquarium!

On Sunday Morning we went to the Virginia Aquarium. It was super hot and muggy and there was absolutely nothing that we wanted to do outside. We had to renew our membership, but it was well worth it to be able to enjoy the fish in a nice, cool environment!

Wyatt had a lot of fun. My mom took him there about two months ago, and as soon as we told him where we were going he said "We're going to see the sea turtles, and the sting rays, and the sharks!" He was so excited to go, but once we got there we had a small problem. Wyatt is apparently afraid of the Sting Rays and won't touch them. You can see how sketched out he is by them. But it's not like he hasn't been exposed to them before.

Like when we went snorkeling on our honeymoon (Okay, he wasn't actually alive then).

Or when we went to Sea World in 2007!

Or when we went to Sea World in November! He loved the sting rays!

He had a great time running around and checking everything out! There were lots of buttons to press, and I even took the opportunity to show him a Leatherback Sea Turtle and its nest because he LOVES that episode of Diego.

We walked the nature trail (read: sweltering inferno) back to where we parked the car next to the Waterpark. We stopped and looked at "Daddy's work" off in the distance and watched a few boats pass by.

Looking at Daddy's work in the distance
This is one of Wyatt's new patented dance moves.
Me and the kids!

The rest of our day wasn't too exciting. We went to the Home Depot to order new shingles for the roof. We went to Red Robin for dinner. We came home and watched the Yankees sweep the Red Sox! Okay, that part was exciting! We pretty much stayed in all weekend to watch the games! Brian even stayed up to watch the entire game on Friday night that went 15 innings. The only game we missed was Saturday's because we went to see Pete and Shannon and their new baby girl Audrey at the hospital, and then went out to dinner! And even then we listened to the game on Brian's iPhone (in the car, it was over by dinner)!