Professional Pictures

Here are some of the shots we got last Sunday at Portrait Innovations!

Also, an update on the sleeping issue -- Monday night was a little better - she went 4 1/2 hours between feedings and slept well in between. Last night - AMAZING! - I fed her at 10 and she slept until 5!!! Then went back down easily until we were up with Noah at 7:00. Crazy. I'm sure it was a fluke but I'll take it! My mom said she heard me talking about how Noah was a better sleeper at her age and didn't want to be shown up by her big brother! :-)

A Crazy Week!!

Well, Monday started off with Waylon feeling even worse than he did on Sunday. His temperature kept going up and up and he finally went to the doctor on Tuesday morning. The diagnosis?... Pneumonia!! Can you believe it? He says he never felt fully better after the first sickness but it was hard for him to determine if he was still sick or if he was just tired from having a newborn! The doctor gave him antibiotics and steroids to get over it and now he's feeling much better. I'm hoping we all can stay healthy for a while now but I have a feeling it's going to be a rough winter for everyone.

Since last Wednesday was Veteran's Day, Noah's daycare was closed, so we had two playdates to keep us entertained - Maddie in the morning and Savannah in the afternoon. It was nice to have activities and it made the day go by quicker.

Lollypops with Maddie

Thursday on the other hand, was a looooong day. t was rainy, I had no activites planned and by about 4:00, I was done! That evening turned out to be kinda rough, too so it was just a hard day all around. I did however take both kids out alone for the first time! It was just a quick trip to get Noah's hair cut but it went very well!

Friday morning, Kylie was smiling at me a bunch and I caught this little one on camera...

Later on Friday, we loaded up and went to the mall with Janet and Mason. We just walked around, played in the play area and had lunch. It was another nasty day so it was nice to get out. I took our new double stroller but Noah walked most of the time. He was really good and stayed right with us! I think he's really embracing this big brother thing.

Saturday, Waylon decided to stay home from the NC State football game (wow!) - he said it was because he wanted to make sure he was over the pneumonia but I think he felt bad for me! :-) It was nice to be home together all day. That morning, Waylon did some work on the car while Noah painted out in the garage (that is until Noah decided he needed to help with the car)...

While they were outside, I got a little artsy with taking some pictures of Kylie... :-)

....which sparked me to call and finally make an appointment to get some professional pictures taken. I called Portrait Innovations and they actually had some appointments available on Sunday morning. We got some great shots and I'll post some in another post soon.

Sunday afternoon, Nana and Grandad came over to visit for a short time and I got this really great shot...

Today was back to school and work for Noah and Waylon and Kylie has just been smiling at me all day! I caught a few more on camera.

As I type, Kylie is fussing with Waylon. We have been working out this evening/nighttime thing over the past few nights. She's always been fussy in the evenings but she had been sleeping pretty well at night - only waking up for feedings. Well, the past few nights, she's been waking up in between feedings, so we are getting pretty tired! We just have to figure each other out still -- we'll get it one of these days (course then something else will change, right? - that's how it works, you think you get in a routine and then everything changes). :-)

Better go take my turn with her!

Weekend Activities

Friday morning was a beautiful fall day, so we decided to play outside for a while. I had Kylie bundled in the carrier so Noah and I kicked a ball around and played in the leaves.

After Noah went down for his nap, Jennie came over to visit. We got to relax while Noah was sleeping and play after he woke up. It was so nice to have company (and extra hands!) for the afternoon.

After Jennie left, we went for another walk with Janet and Mason. When Daddy got home, we ordered pizza and had a nice relaxing evening in.

Saturday was all about plans changing for the better....

Waylon was planning to go to the NC State game. I decided to join him with the kids for the tailgate. The plan was to just go out for an hour or so and have him walk me back to the car and let Noah fall asleep on the way home. While we were at the tailgate, Cory mentioned that they had an extra ticket to the game. Just as everyone was getting ready to go into the game and I was getting ready to head back to the car with the kids, we decided to all go in! Everyone did great for the short time we were there - Kylie slept through the whole thing and Noah enjoyed it all yet again. We didn't even stay for the whole first quarter but it was fun anyway. It was obvious Noah was very tired (the game started at 1:00 - right smack dab in the middle of naptime) and we were sitting in a sunny section of the stadium so I was kinda worried about Kylie being too warm/getting too much sun. By the time we made it back to the car, it was about 2:30 - Noah fell right asleep and didn't wake up until 5:00!! On the way home, Kylie started fussing and was crying very loudly - Noah slept through the whole thing! Good test for him! Here's a shot of us walking into the game as a family....

And here's the outfit that Kylie wore to the game! :-)

The other part of the 'original plan' for Saturday was for Eli and Evia to come over for some playtime after nap. When we decided to go to the game, I called Evia and changed plans on her - asking if they wanted to come over later instead and stay for dinner. She was very accomidating and even suggested they bring dinner with them! Wow! So their whole family came over around 6:00 compete with a big pot of chili, all the fixin's and dessert, too! Thanks so much guys! As always, Noah and Eli had such a great time and were so well behaved.

Even though we don't see them very often, Noah asks for Eli quite a bit. One moring a few weeks ago, I woke Noah up for school and, still in a haze, he said, 'Where did Eli go?' I asked if he was dreaming about Eli and he said yes. I asked what they were doing in his dream and he acted out driving his toy cars around. It was so cute. Saturday when he woke up from his nap, he immediately asked for Eli and then a little bit later, he said, 'I had pizza and cheetos today.' I didn't know what he was talking about because we hadn't had either of those things and then it dawned on me.... he had pizza and cheetos at Eli's birthday party (back in August)! His little memory amazes me!

They love each other - check out how tall Eli is!!

(and he's even slightly younger than Noah!)

Sunday morning, we decided to try a bottle of pumped milk with Kylie. I was a little nervous that she might not take to the bottle because she's not really all that interested in the paci but she did. It took her a few minutes to figure it out but once she did, she drank 2.5 oz, took a short break, spit up a lot of it, and then drank another 1 oz (she's much more of a spitter than Noah was - even when nursing). Waylon (and Noah!) enjoyed feeding her and it's nice to know that I can now be away during a feeding! I might take advantage of that sometime soon! :-)

Getting ready to eat!

First bottle

Noah wanted to help her finish up the last little bit.

Sunday afternoon, Nana, Grandad and Savannah came over to play (Andrea and Sean are on vacation in the Dominican Republic so Nana and Grandad have been keeping Savannah all week). They had fun running around outside and stayed for dinner, too. I missed getting any photo ops - these days the camera doesn't always make it out!

I did snap this picture after the left though - I thought he was so handsome in this outfit...

I'm finishing up this post at 4am during a feeding. Kylie has been back to eating every 3 hours for a while now (she was doing 4 at night for the first few weeks). I've been having trouble staying awake during the night feedings cause I'm just so exhausted so working on the computer is my way of trying to stay awake! :-)

Waylon started feeling a little feverish again yesterday. We are really hoping he's not having a relapse of whatever he had before! He might hit the doc if h'es not feeling better soon - we are worried about bronchitis or pneumonia cause he's had this cough for a while. So far, Kylie is still okay - every day that goes by that she stays healthy, I breath a sigh of relief. I just want her to be older before we have to deal with any sickness!

Today/tomorrow, Noah goes back to school and Waylon go back to work so it's just the girls again for a few days. Hopefully 'we' can catch up on laundry, relax a little and maybe catch up on some sleep! We'll see!

Our Week

This week was my first full week home alone. It actually went pretty well - I survived anyway! :-)

First, a few more pictures from Sunday that I forgot to post last weekend...

Another bath - this time with Daddy

Playdate with Stella Dot - breaking for juice and conversation. At one point, the icemaker dumped some ice and we heard Noah say, 'That's the icemaker'. It's so fun to hear them talk to each other! :-)

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Noah was in school so it was just me and Kylie... things weren't quite as slow as they had been when I had help. It's amazing how an extra pair of hands helps! Kylie was a little fussy in the mornings on Monday and Tuesday, so that kept us snuggling and I wasn't able to get much done (like shower) until the afternoons! :-) Janet and I took a few walks which was nice and on Wednesday, we actually went out to lunch at Panera with Janet and Mason and another neighbor, Morgan and her 12 week old, Phoenix! I wish I had gotten a picture of all the kiddos... it was fun to get out with other new moms. We have one more neighbor due in a week! Four kids in 4 months!

Some more pictures....

A sleep smile - love those.

Actually, I think I might have gotten a 'real' smile yesterday. She was wide awake and I was talking to her and she smiled at me! It was so cute. It's so fun to watch these new developments all over again! Noah is excited, too. This morning, he was talking to her saying, 'Do you want to play with my trucks? (pause) Okay, let's go!' So cute.

Saying hi after he got home from school on Monday

Just a cute outfit picture :-)

Noah saying goodbye before Pajama Day at school on Tuesday!

Another cute sleepy/cute outfit shot (check out the shoes, too!) :-)

It's so fun to dress up a girl.

Yesterday was my first full day home alone with two kids. It went pretty well but I was very tired by the end of the day. Both kids were pretty good - we used the TV some but not too much, I don't think. We even made it through a trip to the doctor to get Noah his H1N1 vaccine. So glad we got one for him!

I was nervous about getting Noah down for a nap but Kylie was actually sleeping when it was time for him to go down, so that worked out well. We'll see how it goes today!

Wide awake.

Another big development - Kylie rolled over from front to back! I had her on her belly for some tummy time and she was getting frustrated and rolled onto her back! I thought it was a fluke so I put her on her belly again and took video and she did it again! I couldn't believe it - at 3 weeks old. I'll try to post the video if I can get it uploaded.

Well, Kylie is alseep in my arms and Noah has been watching Diego while I've been doing this and it's almost over now so I better wrap it up! Have a great weekend everyone!

Feeling better and Halloween Festivities!!

Last week was rough not having Waylon around for a few days but luckily, it landed on the days when Noah was in school and my mom was also here to help out. He came home on Wednesday afternoon and we were all very happy to have him home and feeling better!



I was also fighting a pretty bad cough (Waylon and I both still have that but it's getting better) and my mom was fighting a cold that turned into pink eye!! She made a trip to the Urgent Care also and got that under control quickly - I think we kept them in business last week!! :-) Waylon finally went back to work on Thursday after two weeks out so he was glad to get back in a routine, I think.

Noah had a Halloween Parade and Sing-along at his school on Thursday morning, so my mom and I got both kids ready and loaded up to get to his school by 9:15. It was so adorable to watch the parade. Noah had the best time showing off his costume and somehow managed to get front and center during the sing along! :-)

Dressed and ready to go!

With Maddie in his classroom

Parading!

Noah with his best buds - Stella Dot and Maddie

Sing along time

That afetrnoon, Kylie and I headed to her two week appointment while my mom stayed at home while Noah napped. She had gained a whopping 1 lb and 2 oz in a week! Crazy. She was 9 lbs, 3 oz on Thursday and I'm positive she's gained more since then. I'm pretty sure she's been going through her 3 week growth sprut over the past few days... she's wanting to eat more often and she's been up 3 times a night instead of 2. I'm hoping she'll get back to 2 soon!! :-)

Anyway, after the appointment, we loaded in the car again (a busy day!) to head to the airport to pick up Papa who came back to keep Grammy company on the drive home. After we got him, we went to the observation area at the airport to watch the planes take off and land. Noah had a good time running around and watching the planes...

Friday was a more low key day which started with Kylie's first 'real' bath - her umbilical cord fell off last week (a lot quicker than Noah's which took almost 6 weeks, I think!!)...

She wasn't thrilled at first. This picture makes me laugh... :-)

We also decided to make rice crispie treats... here's how Noah 'helped'...

Friday night, we ventured out for our first family dinner out (although we still had my parents with us so we had extra hands!). Kylie was actually awake the whole time and did great and Noah was pretty good, too. It was really nice to get out. After we got home, my parents stayed for Noah's bedtime and then headed back to the lake. My mom had been away from home for 2 1/2 weeks so she was ready to get back!!

Saturday was our first day getting into our new 'normal' as a family of 4! It was a nice weekend. In the morning, we painted a pumpkin to put on our front porch for Halloween.

And Saturday night was, of course, Halloween!! Noah had the best time trick-or-treating. Kylie on the other hand was a little fussy so I had to stop halfway through to bring her home and feed her (and she still didn't calm down a whole lot after that) but we still had a blast. Guess we have to get used to things not going exactly as planned, huh?? :-)

Anwyay, we walked around the neighborhood with Madde, Mason, Janet, and Frank and Nana and Grandad came to watch the festivities also! Maddie and Noah had so much fun and it was great to introduce Kylie to all the neighbors while we were out.

Noah and Kylie ready to go!

Kylie, Noah, Maddie and Mason - adorable!!

Trick or Treating at Mo and Gail's

Notice the candy in hand!

The lollypop worked well for Noah cause it lasted almost the entire time! :-)

Checking out a neighbor's inflatable pumpkin.

Yesterday was a long day because of the time change but we filled it up with playdates. Stella Dot came over to play in the morning and Savannah came over in the afternoon. Noah had a really good day and was a good boy!

Today, Waylon is at work and Noah is at school so it's just us girls at home. It's my first full day home alone with Kylie. So far, it's been pretty good (except for this growth spurt so I feel like all I do is feed her!!). Thursday and Friday will be the true test when I'm home with both kids all day by myself!! :-)

Hope everyone has a great week! We are looking forward to getting Kylie out in public more and getting to see more people! In the meantime, come visit when you can!! :-)