Same baby??

What do you think?? Are these pictures of the same baby?




The answer? Nope. The fist one is Natalya at three and a half months, and the second is Zachary at three months. Crazy huh?

Good to be back!

It is good to be back- Internet up and running. I can't believe how much I missed it- on so many levels. Mostly for my coupon and deals though! Craziness.

We're doing good. The kids are getting so big. We measured Natalya in front of her growth chart yesterday and she's up another inch. That's over four inches since we put it up a year ago!

And Z has his 4 month well baby appt on Monday, but as of his appt Thursday (poor baby has a cold), he is amost 17 lbs and 25.5" long! Yeah. He's a big boy. And sweet! He has the best smile and giggle that puts a smile on my face any time. And boy does he love his sister. She entertains him constantly- makes him laugh and she loves his smiles almost as much as I do. :)

Natalya is doing awesome- she's writing her letters- capital ones, and learning her lowercase ones. She can write her name, but, let's face it, it's got a lot of letters, and she forgets how to spell it, but when you help her remember the letters, she writes them pretty well. She likes to write them HUGE though. LOL. Like, signing a card, she writes the N half of the whole space them tries to squeeze the rest in. :) And loves to sing. And...her memory is phenomenal. She remembers the words to books that I have only read her a couple of times. All the words. Unbelieveable. She is also great at sorting and series things, anything workbook related, she has several, she is great at it. It blows my mind.

Zachary is showing signs of being just as precocious and brilliant. He already can scoot himself into a circle- I put him in the crib while I was folding clothes and when I came back, he was facing the other direction so he could get a beter look at his crib toys and mobile. He watches Doug eat very intently and already is trying to grab things off my plate. He loves to reach out and snag toys and papers, and he has an odd habit of gripping things in his hands- he either grips his shirt, or my shirt, or just grips his hands together. And his grip is super strong! He almost cuts off the circualtion to my fingers when he grabs on.

Natalya is doing great at gymnastics. Her teacher recommended moving her up to the next level of class because she is so far ahead of her age group. We're also going to get her into soccer this year - a seven week program- and see how she likes that. She is so physical and loves being active. I have a hard time keeping up with her!

Doug is still at Pepsi, but just got his doubles/triples, haz-mat and tanker endorsements, so perhaps there are new things on the horizon there. And I am still working on my book, and also thinking of starting an online store...so we'll see! Lots of interesting and new developments for us.

Thanks for checking in with us...

Life's little updates

Well, it's been a while since I have been on, since we don't have internet I have to hijack other people's whenever I am at their houses. Today it's Papa Kincaid's that's being borrowed. :)

Natalya is getting bigger and bigger. She is occasionally showing some jealousy, but not too bad. She is such a good big sister- very helpful and sweet to her brother. She is doing great at gymnastics- she almost did a cartwheel by herself last week, and showing a lot of interest in writing and reading. She can write her initials (entire name is a little difficult at this point) and can read a few words, plus a lot of recognition (Target, Walgreens, things like that). She is also awesome at puzzles and matching, things like that.

As for Zachary, he is getting big! He had his 2 month appointment last week and he was 14 lb 4 oz and 24.5 inches long. (Totally off the chart altogether). A big boy. He is nursing great, sleeping better and will now watch you leave the room and reach and grab things. He has one crib toy (that was Natalya's, from Uncle Ken and Aunt Susan) that he loves, the first thing he reached for, that he loves to reach out and grab it and try to get the rattle into his mouth. Doug swears he said mama yesterday when he was hungry and I wasn't around, but we'll hold out on that to make sure it wasn't a fluke- as it's a wee bit early to be saying words! He does love to coo and gurgle and will lock eyes with you and make these gurgles in the back of his throat. He is so intense when he does this- it's really sweet! Loves his baths too. If he's upset and crying uncontrollably, with no solution, bath is the answer, it is a great way to distract him, although he doesn't often need distraction.

We are so lucky to have such sweet children. I am a truly lucky person.

A pic together

My sweet babies (about two weeks ago)

Bigger and Bigger they grow

Natalya is officially three and a half today and Zachary is over two months old!! I just can't believe it. Natalya is such a good big sister and Zachary is such a good baby, I couldn't ask for more.

Zachary updates

We're doing great. :) I cannot get over how great of a baby Z is. He is soooo laid back. He sleeps great, I've been getting more sleep now than I did while I was pregnant. :)

He is a lazy nurser though. ;) He will nurse for a bit, then pop off and milk will spray everywhere, then he'll look around, get mad, then latch back on and nurse some more, then pop off...etc. ugh. That is the only thing that drives me nuts. :) Other than that, he is a wonderful baby. I hate to say that N was a tough baby, but he is so much better.

Doug goes back to work on Monday and we'll adjust.

Zachary Alexander has arrived.

We got to the hospital around 9:30pm and the midwives checked me and I was about 3cm and 70% effaced, so foley bulb was out. The foley is smaller than 1cm and anything bigger than that and it doesn't do anything. So she said we could go ahead and start a small amount of pitocin...then see how my body adjusted and turn it down or off.

I was really tired but not able to sleep b/c of all the monitors and iv and drama, so I asked if they could give me something to sleep. She brought me an ambien to help me sleep and they started the pit around 11 pm. I still couldn't sleep much, but on and off. Doug got a little sleep and I got a little. I was doing fine, not hurting too bad, contractions getting closer together and stronger. I woke around 3ish and was hurting pretty bad. I started thinking I just couldn't do it. I was hurting and started crying some and telling Doug I hoped he didn't think I was a wuss, but I wanted the epi. So we asked the nurse and around 3:30/4 they ordered the epi. I was breathing through the contractions and thinking the epi better get here quick. Well, I was also sort of thinking in the back of my head that I must be in transition b/c that's when you start thinking they better find another way to get the baby out b/c he is NOT coming out the way they think he is. :) But I didn't think there was any way I could already be in transition.

So a few minutes pass (which seems like hours), and the midwife comes in and says let's check you and see where you are. So she checks and I was 7cm, 100% effaced and that my bag of water was bulging and he was right at the lip of my cervix. She said, we could wait for the epi, or I can break your water and you can have him out in about 30 minutes. So I was crying and said "ok, fine, let's just do it" b/c by the time the anaes. came in and by the time it took effect he could be born.

I breathed some more and then felt like pushing, while they were getting everything ready. She said, hang on! Then she broke my water and I pushed a couple of times. The anes. came in. LOL. The nurse said "Too late!" and they left. I pushed about four more times and out he popped.

There was some meconium, so they went ahead and had me cut his cord and then suctioned him out.

He's doing great now, I'm doing great and we're thrilled he's here. :) They think the hearing machine is messed up, and want me to take him back in to have him re-tested b/c he failed the left side...but they were having problems with it all day.

9 pounds 3 ounces and 20.5 inches long with a cute round little head. November 6, 2008 at 4:59am.