One Week Down

We've been a family of four for a week now, and we've survived! I wasn't really afraid of having two kids, but I figured that was just me being naive. Things have been great so far, granted one of my kiddos are stuck in the pack-n-play except for feedings, but still, it's going well. Poor Cameron is still having her blood drawn everyday because of her jaundice. We have a fantastic nurse (Ellen) that comes to our house daily to weigh and prick her little foot, and as sad as it is to watch, I'm glad they are making sure she's ok. After yesterday's trip to St. John's for the draw, I'm so glad they decided to go ahead and send the bed home with us so the nurses could come to our house, I can't imagine how much of a pain it would have been to drive her out to the hospital everyday.

Some pictures of how poor Cameron's been spending most of her days (except when I keep her out to cuddle with!):

8 Toddlers=Crazy

Rachel was kind (and crazy) enough to host the Christmas Exchange for the kids today. Get eight toddlers together along with a lot of sugar and presents and it's bound o get a little crazy. We were down in the basement playing with Rylynn's toys and it was hilarious watching the play, fight, destroy the room, etc. There was very little interest shown in the presents, the highlights seemed to be the ball pit, kitchen, and cozy coupe truck. Trying to get all of the kids to pose for a picture was quite the challenge. I'm not sure if anyone actually got a decent picture out of the whole ordeal, there were a lot of tears and yelling.

Owen's secret santa was Jace and he got two books. He really loved the one with the playmat and vehicles. Miss Cameron also had her first outing to attend the party. She was a little anti-social though and hung out in her carseat asleep the entire time. I think she was just happy to have a break from the bililights.

Introducing Miss Cameron

This little girl has been a bit of a drama queen since the beginning and decided that she'd make her entrance a month early. We went to the hospital Thursday night after talking to the nurse at my dr's office a few times. She said she'd feel more comfortable with me being checked out since the office was closing early Friday for the Christmas party and my contractions were getting more consistent. On the way there we were discussing how we'd probably be sent home again and end up going to my due date. I was checked in the WEU and was 4-5 cm and contracting every 2-3 minutes. Naturally my doctor wasn't on call, so the on call dr wanted to give me yet another shot of terb to try and stop the contractions and then later a second shot since the first didn't work. After all the vomiting, bedrest, rash, etc I just wanted to have this baby by this point and was not happy with the shots.

I was finally moved to L&D where we discussed what would be the next step, which was basically left up to me. I didn't care as long as I didn't have a baby at home or on the way to the hospital so it was decided that they'd break my water (8:26 am) and eventually give a little pitocin to get the contractions stronger. Contractions started to get painful at 2:30 and by the time I got the epi, Dr. Stein (also not my regular dr) was there and we were ready to have a baby. Miss Cameron Alexandra (nameless for several hours) made her appearance at 3:42 pm. She had a head of dark hair, 6 lbs 2 oz, and 20.75 inches long.

Owen was not very interested in meeting his little sister at first. He walked into the room, completely ignoring both the baby and I, and started playing with the phone. He eventually came around and sat on the bed with us and is giving hugs and kisses now. Pictures will be added as soon as we get our computer fixed.

Swim Time

Thursdays at the Y is swimming day, so I was happy when I got the message that the pool would be closed for some kind of maintenance today. I was not looking forward to getting my pregnant self into a bathing suit for others to see. We got home and had another message saying that swimming was back on, not so happy anymore. We got there and I found out that it wasn't necessary for me to get into the pool with Owen, he could just swim with the teachers unless I wanted to get in.

My child has a love/hate relationship with water. He really enjoys swimming and baths, but doesn't like to be forced in or left by himself. I wasn't entirely sure that he'd get in the pool without me, but again, he surprised me by getting in and having fun. He didn't get far from the steps, but it was a start. No pictures this week, but since I don't have to swim with him, I'll try to bring the camera next week.

Just come cute pictures from today:

Mr. Attitude

Yes, I just posted yesterday about how the little man has been in such a good mood lately. Not sure what happened today, but he woke up from his nap on the wrong side of the bed! After about 45 minutes of constant crying/whining, he finally settled down and was ok, but he was such a crab before that.

"I Going to Class Today"

Owen's "Let's Explore" class started today at the Y and he was very excited to be going to class. He talked about it from the time he got up until we got to the Y. I'm pretty sure he had no idea what class was, but he was happy to be going. The description said that parent participation was required, but when we got there, I learned that it was optional. I wasn't sure how Owen would do without me there since he's never really done anything like that before, so I made it our goal to be able to drop him off by the end of the session. He was a little leary and shy at first, but after a few minutes, he was holding the teacher's hand and somewhat listening to instructions. A few more classes and his listening skills will hopefully get better.

After the Y, we went to our meetup group's Halloween party out in Fenton. We were a little late because of the class, so we missed a lot of the party, but Owen was still able to wear his dino costume and see the other kids dressed up. Dr. A was asking us on Monday if we were going to have a hard time in the terrible two's or an easy time. At the time, I said probably somewhere in the middle, but after hanging out with the meetup kids, I think we have it easy. Some of those kids can throw a tantrum! I definately appreciated Owen's attitude and behavior after leaving the party.

He's been so much fun lately, aside from waking up at night because of his molars. He's been in such good moods and we've been doing a lot of fun stuff together, this is why I love being able to stay at home with him.

Hi Dr. Atteberry!

A nurse from Owen's doctor's office called last week to confirm his appointment for today. Ever since then, Owen's been talking about Dr. Atteberry and going to see him. He'll pretend to call him on the phone and was calling everyone at my dr's office Dr. Atteberry this morning. I guess it's a good thing that he likes his doctor so much, now the nurses are another story.

He had his two year appointment today and was a little uncooperative with the nurse while she was measuring and weighing him. She just guessed at his height and weight, both of which I know are off a little (35 inches which he was at 18 months and 27 or 28 lbs). I've measured him at home (36.5 inches or so) and he stands on the scale all the time (26.6 lbs the other day).

Poor guy had to get two shots today though, his Hep and flu shots. He did very well though. He cried for a minute while he got stuck, but was fine after he saw his band-aids. The rest of the appointment went well. Owen gets to start taking a daily vitamin which he enjoys and thinks is candy.

I had my 30 week appointment today (30 weeks?!) and had to take Owen with me again. He does very well during the appointments though and since they're so short it's not a big deal. Today, Dr. Glass asked if he wanted to sit up next to me while he found the heartbeat. Owen got up for a second then immediately wanted down and proceeded to dump his entire package of granola bites all over the floor. Luckily Dr. Glass has young kids and he understood :)

"Go to Pumpkin Patch Today?"

Owen knows that his party is going to be at the pumpkin patch, so he gets up every morning asking if we're going to the pumpkin patch today. Finally today, we could tell the poor kid, that yes, we're going to the pumpkin patch!

Family picture

Luckily the temperature was supposed to be nice, but we had some wind to deal with. We battled with tablecloths, had pizza boxes flying, mini-dust storms around us, etc. All in all, it was a great day given it was so late in October and it could have been cold, rainy, or snowing.


Owen and his friends had a great time painting pumpkins and opening all the gifts. He got a lot of great stuff, though I'm not sure where it's all going to go. We're going to have a lot of packing away of old stuff to make some room. Some of his favorites include the giant firetruck, his doctor kit, the tee-ball set, Thomas flashlight, and his jammies.

Getting ready to paint

Present time!

I wasn't sure how he was going to react to everyone singing to him, because he's freaked out before and it wasn't even his birthday. When we told him it was time to sing, he started saying "no sing Happy Birthday Owen!" but ended up sitting still and enjoying it. Because it was so windy, I don't think he actually got to blow out his candles, but he tried.

The dirt cakes

Cookie cake

Enjoying some dirt cake and gummy worms

Since it's the last weekend before Halloween, the place was pretty busy, so we decided not to do the hayride or the inflatable bouncers. I didn't think we'd have time to fit those, plus all of the other party stuff in anyway. Mike, Owen, Grandpa W, Uncle Steve, Aunt Tricia, Luke, Ben, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Erin decided to take a hayride after the party. Apparently throwing the hay was a lot more fun than the actual ride for the boys.

Happy Birthday To You!

Today's Owen's 2nd birthday, and I can't believe how fast he's growing up! It's amazing how much he's changed in the last year. He's such a little boy now, not a baby :( He's talking like crazy and always cracking us up with the stuff he says. Some of his newest and favorite things to say:

• "But I like that!" Usually as we are taking something away from him that he wants.


• "Happy Birthday _____!" He wakes up singing Happy Birthday and will sing it all day long, usually to someone new each time.


• "I'll beat you!" He's spent way too much time with me yelling at the dog :)


• "Bailey, bad dog!" Again, too much time with me and the dog.

He's really into trains, cars/trucks, reading his "big animal book," playing ball, jumping, riding his bike, and playing outside right now.

Owen had a busy birthday, but I think he had a good day. He went to watch Daddy play ball for a while, even though he didn't do much watching. Aunt Carrie and Uncle Joe picked him up and took him to Day Out with Thomas, which I know he loved. That night, Mike and I took him to Incredible Pizza for dinner and some games/rides. He was a little crabby before we left for dinner, so we bribed him with some gifts which made things better!

Don't mind the non-matching pant/shirt combo, he picked the shirt

The Thomas train was a big hit

All Aboard!

There's a train in Glencoe, MO that is run by retired railroad workers that runs on weekends. Since Owen's in love with trains right now, we decided we'd take him out for a ride before they closed for the season. Uncle Steve, Aunt Tricia, Luke and Ben came out to meet us for a ride before we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for dinner. The line was pretty long, but the boys did well for being 2 and 3. I think the anticipation of the ride was enough to keep them busy. The ride was 2 miles and lasted about 30 minutes. He didn't say much during the ride, I think he was in awe. When it was time to leave, Owen was asking for "more choo-choo."

The engine

Family picture before the train left

Checking out what's up ahead

Crossing the bridge

Mommy and Owen

Luke

Mr. Ben enjoying the ride

Halloween Preview

Our first Halloween event of the season was this evening at Grant's Farm. We took the haunted tram (or choo-choo as Owen refers to it) through the park to the festivities. A lot of the animals were out too, so that was an added bonus. The park was decorated and various characters were walking around. Once we got to the Tier Garten (where the free beer is and the dads' favorite part of the night), the kids had fun running around and dancing. Owen was incredibly hyper and would not stay still, he was all over the place.

Dino on the tram ride

His first character encounter
Warming up to the characters
Taking a break from all the dancing for a snack

One final dance before we left

I figured Owen would be exhausted when we left since it was so late, but he was hyped up. He talked the entire way home, but crashed once he hit his bed.

Pumpkin Patch(es!)

We've been to the pumpkin patch three times already, so I figured I'd just put all the pics in one post. We've been to Eckert's (it was really for apple picking, but there were pumpkins too), Stuckmeyer's and the Farmer's Market in Kirkwood so far. Owen had such a great time at all three, he wakes up every morning asking to go to the pumpkin patch or Monkey Joe's.

I asked Owen to find a pumpkin he liked and this is what he picks out:

One of the few pictures that he's actually looking at the camera
He loved playing in the "Spooky Fort" at Stuckmeyer's
Enjoying a little corn while posing

Very proud of himself for finding the "needle" in the haystack

Welcome Baby Senna!

Owen's newest cousin was born yesterday. Aunt Anne and Uncle Ces had a little girl yesterday afternoon. Mike and I went up to visit last night, and it put me in freak-out mode a little. I realized how soon we'd be doing the same thing. We have nothing ready for this baby, so I'm a little nervous that it's so soon, but I'm over being pregnant.

Yard Work

We figured it was time that Owen started earning his keep, so we put him to work this weekend. Little did we know, he'd actually love it :)

Maybe using 3 rakes will speed up the process?

Taking a little break for some fun

Now that the leaves are gone, we can mow

Messy Day

Rylynn's PAT was having "messy day" this morning and they invited us to go with them. It was so cute and a lot of fun. There were a bunch of different art projects set up and Owen's favorite, spraying sheets with colored water.

Little Picasso working on his painting

Now onto some stamping fun

And the highlight of the activities, spraying the sheets

'After the messy day activities were over, we walked over to the playground to let the kids run around. Owen seems to have overcome his recent fear of swinging and wanted to swing the whole time. If he wasn't on the swing, he spent his time on the merry-go-round. It was an old-school merry-go-round that I hadn't seen in ages, I didn't know those things were still around.

The swing's not that scary

Yeah, this is pretty fun!

Rylynn and Owen on the ghetto merry-go-round

I'm thinking this is some kind of safety hazard