You've got mail!

If you don't know already, getting mail here is a BIG DEAL. One of my best friends will even go to the mail TWICE in one day if she's expecting a package. Needless to say, we love getting mail as well and yesterday I got a lovely surprise!

Our baby bedding for Clay! I bought it on Etsy from Melissa Boutique and I love it!

Check it out

It's not you, it's me

That's what I find myself telling Clay these days. Turns out, he is healthy and I just have an inadequate milk supply. So, with lots of supplemental bottles, pumping, reglan, fenugreek and insanity we're finally putting some weight on this kid.
Clay's cardiology appt was yesterday and they did say he had a murmur. The doctor told us that a lot of preemies have heart murmurs just because their anatomy is small and that it should be gone by the time he's 6 months old. It's not affecting any bodily functions.


Daily Countdowns:

Days until Cory comes home: 7
Days until inlaws arrive: 14
Tmes Carter has bit someone this week: 3
Ounces of formula per day: 20
Number of children I wish I had at 7am: 0
Times I have swept the front hallway in the last 48 hours: 6
Number of months it will take me to address these birth announcements: infinite

Let it snow!

We had a lot of snow today, and from what I hear more is coming tomorrow.
We made it out for a little bit with some of the neighbor girls to play. I basically had to drag carter in by his feet to get him to come in. It stinks having a little brother who gets cold!
His favorite part of the whole ordeal? Eating it.

Our little snowman


This is how Clay plays in the snow


Our apartment


Smile


Cheese!

And our newest BF accessory is...

We're trying to knock out all possibilities here. So for this week we're on strict weights. We're weighing before and after each feeding.

Another thing I've realized while documenting all this. This kid never goes more than exactly one hour without eating. I'm thinking this isn't a growth spurt....It's lasted for over 4 weeks. He's eating as much as he always has...just never really looked at the clock like I am now.

Thank you Aunt Sarah!

Check out Clay's new digs.

Spider Clay, Spider Clay, eats a lot and poops all day.

This is about as exciting as he gets

First rate parenting

What do you do when the baby's hungry and you're not dressed but the toddler really, really wants to play in the snow?







Lock 'em out on the porch.

In which I prove I'm weak

Here are a few others from this 'weak' week



Carter loves his little brother. Clay, on the other hand, could use a break.

Count your blessings

This week has been somewhat trying with Cory gone. The dog has needed to go out more than usual and at horribly inconvenient times (try 10:30 pm?) Clayton has done a whole lot more crying and Carter has just been...well, 2.
We had a doctor's appointment again this Monday (after 2 weeks of supplementing Clay) and he had gained some weight. Yay! We went off of the supplements and he had another appointment on Friday. However, on Friday he hadn't gained a fraction of an ounce. The doctor listened to his heart really well and said that she thinks she might hear a murmur. Dr. Burns and I talked about it and agreed that with all of the circumstances of the pregnancy, the excessive crying and having gained less than a pound in 7 weeks that he needed to be scheduled for a pediatric echo cardiogram.
Of course we'll have to go back to Ajou University hospital since there are no military peds cardiologists over here. It's supposed to take awhile to get the paperwork rolling and the appointment made, so Cory may be home by the time we go (which is what we're hoping for). Don't worry too much though (Grandparents) we're going to be very cautious over here and not make any rash decisions before exhausting all of our options.
So, obviously by the time Friday evening rolled around I was feeling awfully sorry for myself (and Clay). I had a cup of coffee (with an extra teaspoon of sugar), talked with my friend Laura from down the hall and laid in the bed with the baby the rest of the night.
When I woke up this morning and did my obligatory e-mail, myspace and facebook check I realized how blessed I truly am. A friend of mine and his wife delivered a stillborn baby yesterday. The moment I read about it my heart sank and I felt like I was going to throw up. I've felt sick about it all morning. I can't even fathom the pain and distress they must be in. I've prayed about it constantly this morning for two reasons. One, for God to grant peace to this family and Two, to ask God WHY things like this happen?! These are wonderful, Christ loving people who did everything right, why did they not ever get to meet their baby? And even now, in this devastating time, they hold strong to their faith.
How blessed is my family that we're here together (most of the time) and healthy (for the most part) and that my husband and I are in love and have a strong marriage, our kids are happy and smart. Our families love us and support us. Neither of us have ever lost a parent or child.
Just when we think we've got it rough, even though it's hard, we have to remember that people, GOOD people, are fighting tougher battles everyday.

I should get paid for this...

Look at this! I sewed on my own button. Make that TWO buttons!
While I have been known to sew on buttons before, It was just a matter or attaching the button to the correct side of the fabric. But now, NOW, I know the correct technique to sew on a button. (Thanks to the book my inlaws sent with my machine!)
Go ahead and envy my sewing skills. And if you don't care about me sewing bean bags and a button well, then you can just shut-the-hell-up, no one's forcing you to read this.

Ta-Da!

I have FINALLY been able to get out my sewing machine (thanks to what we think is a colicky baby) and I made my first two crafts: bean bags!

The actual sewing wasn't too tricky, but getting the machine ready is what kept tripping me up. And, always remember to put the foot down.

After lots of wasted thread, here are the final products:

Boys

Here are some recent pictures of the kiddos

New Years Resolution

I don't ever make new year's resolutions. I've never had any bad vices worth getting rid of and I couldn't diet if I tried.
However this year, family has really taken on an even bigger part of my life (considering there's more of us now) and I feel like I owe it to one member of the family to try harder:




The dog.



Bailey's had a similar life to many other dogs. She came first, then two kids later she's pretty far down on the totem pole. She's still above ground on Cory's totem pole and actually just right under the kids. But somehow on mine, she ended up 6 feet under with concrete poured on top. Since having kids everything she does - including breathing - irritates me. She's too big, or shedding too much, or is too needy or gets in every one's face when they come to visit, or makes my house stink, and not to mention she occasionally pees in the house when she's sleeping.
But, I used to really love Bailey, I mean I still do love Bailey. I am the one who convinced my husband to get her, I did her obedience training with her, she used to go to doggy daycare and the dog park and get new toys and now she usually just gets yelled at to GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN.

So, my resolution is to have more patience with the dog. She can't help her circumstances. Poor thing, she's miserable in an apartment and it's not her fault. My argument is that I don't have enough patience for two kids a husband AND a dog, but I think in 2009, I can squeeze her in, I can make room for her again.

Bailey, I do love you and I'm sorry I've been so impatient and unfair to you. You're a good dog.