Will ~ 2 Months

Our Baby Will turned 2 months old last week. It's been such a fun month seeing his little personality slowly start to appear. From what we can tell so far, he is one happy baby. Right around 6 weeks, we started seeing his smile come out. By the end of the second month, he was in full out squeal mode complete with all kinds of coos, aahs, and ooos. He will offer smiles to just about anyone, and we all love it!

Yep, the bibs are still there. Pretty sure they will be for awhile. He is a spit-up machine. So sad that half of his cute outfits can't be seen, so I asked a friend to take a bunch of the plain bibs we had and do cute embroidery. Love is in the details, right?

His sleeping is getting better. The longest stretch at night has been 5 1/2 hours. The typical stretch is 5 hours. Thank goodness he is easy to get back to sleep when he wakes up, but we're all ready for the stretch to get longer. As far as sleep during the day, things are different with a second. He has many, many naps on the go in the car. And I try so hard to get both he and Tate to sleep at the same time in the afternoon, so I usually depend on the crutch of the swing for that nap. I'm thinking this is the month to start breaking that habit. We'll see.

He is still a swaddle baby, which almost instantly calms him down if he's upset or tired. The paci is hit or miss. Sometimes he loves it, sometimes he spits it out like he can't stand it. Not sure what will happen there.

And he is definitely growing. We made some changes and got over his weight gain issues. I was really disappointed and frustrated it didn't work out, but around 7 weeks he was officially a formula-fed baby. But obviously his growth is most important right now, and he has gained up to the 30th % in weight and 80% in length.

We had some good and bad moments in the health department this month. The good news is that after the physical therapy evaluation, the torticollis didn't look severe enough to require ongoing therapy. As much as I love the therapists at OCH, I was thrilled with that report. So for now, we're just working on lots of turning and alternating sides at home to get him straightened out all the way.

The bad news was that at 6 weeks old, he had his first trip (and hopefully last for quite awhile) to the pediatric urgent care. A week after me, Wade, and Tate all got over a cold, Will woke up one morning with what seemed like an instant barking cough. A scary call with the pediatrician and we were off to urgent care. A few tests and xrays showed that it was definitely croup. Never a fever and he still was full of smiles, so I'm sure it was a mild case. Still pretty scary when a baby is that little. Thankfully, he was better in a few days.

And even after 2 months, his big brother Tate is still quite a fan. Will seems to be enamored with him already and loves to watch him and smile at him. Sometimes he looks a little perplexed as Tate puts his face an inch away, but it shocks me how it never upsets him. The brother bond is already forming!

And then there is his hair. Like his brother's, Will's hair began falling out almost immediately. All except for what I call the stripe. That long patch of the hair at the bottom is taking its time. Good thing he's so cute, because it sure is funny looking! :) Right now he's got a tiny layer of new hair fuzz, which looks to be a light brown.

And one of his funniest baby quirks so far is the bath. Oh how he LOVES the bath. You wouldn't be able to tell at all during the bath. He has a very serious look on his face. But the second you take him out of the bath, he is not happy. He could stay in there forever. Then he gets happy again on the changing table and loves hanging out there.

We are all pretty smitten around here with this beautiful boy. So thankful for the joy he already brings!

Makeover

Sharon @ Redbud Designs has done it again! This is the second design she has done for the 'ol blog, and I love it yet again. Somehow she took my request of "clean but vintagy with layers but not too scrapbooky" and came up with this design. Pretty great makeover!

Giveaway

Click over here for a giveaway at my sister's online shop, Jelby's. You could win Jelby's cash for adorable custom burpies, dresses, appliqued shirts, and more.

Will ~ 1 Month

Will turned 1 month old on the 15th (better late than never)! I was excited to put him in his 1 month onesie that my sister made. For Tate, I did the block pictures every month, and now Will has his own wardrobe for monthly birthdays. It will be so fun to watch as he grows.

He has been a very good baby so far. When he is awake, his temperament seems to be pretty easy-going. We're hoping that continues! We love staring at his face trying to figure out who he looks like and what features he has from which family member. Seems to be a mixture of all of us. But those cheeks may be the cutest of all. And the big question is what will happen with his hair. The first few weeks, it seemed like it was coming out, but now I'm not so sure.

He definitely likes the pacifier and being swaddled, which can calm him down right away if he is upset. But he is a strong little guy and is already breaking out of most swaddles at night.

He gets lots of attention from his big brother. Lots and lots of attention. :) Pretty much anytime Tate is walking by Will, he has to stop and give him a little pat or a "Will looks happy!" declaration after getting right in his face. Amazingly, Will doesn't' seem to mind at all. In fact, he's quick to look around in Tate's direction when he hears him. Here is Will being checked on by Dr. Tate.

And speaking of doctors, even though he's been a good baby, he has already had his fare share of trips to the pediatrician. I guess he wants to be like his big brother, so like Tate did, he's had a little trouble gaining weight. We've had to go back for several weight checks. He's gaining, but just not fast enough. I'm trying to avoid the ordeal I went through with Tate and his weight. It's been disappointing and frustrating, but obviously making sure Will gets what he needs and starts putting on the pounds is what's most important. So I'm transitioning to formula and hoping that will do the trick quickly. He is definitely growing in length, though, and is already over 23 inches long.

It also looks like he's going to meet some of the wonderful people at Our Children's House, where Tate spent lots of time, too. I don't think it's the same issues that Tate had, but it looks like Will has torticollis (tightening in the neck muscle and tilting to one side) and is going for a physical therapy evaluation next week. Hopeful and prayerful that it can be resolved quickly!

As far as sleep goes, he's fed around 11:00 p.m., and then he typically wakes up between 2:00-3:00 a.m. Most nights, it's pretty easy for him to go back to sleep after he eats, and then he's up again around 6:00 a.m.

This picture is from his first bath. He was not a fan that first night at all. But starting with bath #2, he was in love. Now he gets mad when we take him out of the bath.

This was the night of his first outing to church. Such a cute little outfit, but I'm not sure he'll be able to wear it much longer since he's getting so long.

And poor guy is going to be wearing bibs for most pictures I'm afraid. Unlike his brother, he is quite the spitter-upper. If you gave us bibs or burp cloths for a baby gift, know that they are going to great use! Thank goodness that a low dose of Zantac seems to help from it making him uncomfortable.

Already, he is a joy to have in our family, and we are all in love. I can't wait to see who our Baby Will is going to grow to be and what his personality will be like. We are looking forward to all of the memories ahead.

Preschool Program & Last Day 2009-2010

Tate's first year of preschool has come to a close. And to finish the year, the school had the end-of-year-program. This was the first time Tate performed with a big audience watching, so we weren't sure how he would do. He did great! My pictures are horrible and the video is messed up, but Tate sang his little heart out. He especially liked the part when they got to yell (loudly).

After the program we went back to his classroom for an Open House. Tate had a great year in his Bees class. I know he learned many great things like numbers, colors, seasons, etc. But to me, some of the best lessons and skills learned in a classroom at his age are sharing, taking turns, respecting and listening to teachers, waiting in line (quietly), good manners when eating, and all of those fun things. We are still working on some of those, but being in school twice a week definitely helped.

He made great friends and often talked about them at home. Most days when I would pick him up and ask him about his day, the first words were that "I played with cars." I'm pretty sure he found a way to incorporate a car somewhere in each day. He also liked going to Chapel and singing "with motions." I had known that they do a Spanish session during the day, but couldn't ever get out of him what they learned. Finally one day I heard him singing a song in Spanish counting 1-10.

Each day he would bound into the classroom barely looking back to say bye, so I think it's safe to say he enjoyed it. I know that he loved his teachers, Ms. Erin & Ms. Alicia, as we had many conversations throughout the week where he would talk about them. And now he LOVES watching the year-end video and pointing them out along with many friends.

Overall, it was a great first year. Looking at these pictures from his first day and his last day, I can't believe how much bigger and older he looks. Time is going so fast!

First Day ~ September 2009

Last Day ~ May 2010

And I hated that I didn't have any good video from the program. So the other day, I had Tate give an encore performance. Yes, we are in the bathroom. It was the only place I could find that he wasn't distracted...and even that didn't work entirely! The first video is their memory verse, Psalm 16:11. The second video is their song, Joy Down In My Heart. Be prepared as you may need to turn down the volume...gotta love him! :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Big Day (and really big blog post documenting it)

April 15 was a big day for our family. We welcomed our newest addition, Baby Will, as he is affectionately called. My due date was actually April 22, but at my last few dr. appts., it was appearing that little Will might not be so little. At my 38-week appt., I had an ultrasound that measured him at 8 lbs. 7 oz. Supposedly those can be off by an entire pound either way. So my dr. and I discussed the different options, and it was decided to go ahead and induce me at 39 weeks to hopefully prevent him from getting too big. That proved to be a good decision.

There was a brief period of time when I didn’t know if I’d “make the cut” onto the hospital induction list for that day, but by 11:00 a.m. on the 14^th I got the call that we were set to go for Will to be born on the 15th (let's hope he doesn't want to be a tax accountant when he grows up as that would not make for fun birthdays). That day was surreal as I ran a few last minute errands with just Tate in the car.

And later that evening, Wade & I dropped him off at my parent’s house. I still tear up thinking about it. But after we said our goodbyes and took a quick picture, I had to leave fast so he wouldn’t see that I was a crying, blubbering wreck. So bittersweet to have the stage of our only child come to an end. Here’s the last picture of just the three of us.

Wade & I headed to dinner together at Uncle Julio’s (maybe spicy food will speed up labor?) and then went home to try to get some sleep before having to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. Here I am at a crazy early hour (very tired) by the final countdown for Baby Will.

As we drove in the dark to the hospital, we started guessing what time he would be born. Surely because this is my second labor, and that I’ve had LOTS of contractions, and made some dilation progress…surely this will go quick. And surely it will go quicker than Tate’s 13 hours of labor. Surely. (ha ha ha…can you guess the outcome?)

Well I can at least say this, because of the progress of technology and the beloved iPhone, the day at least seemed to go faster. The early hours (before the contractions got miserable) were passed with some riveting Words With Friends. Not sure I played some of my best words as I was a little distracted, but it sure nice to have something to try to concentrate on. And it was really different than three years ago with Facebook and texts keeping everyone updated on how the day was going. But then the day started dragging. And I started worrying that it was going to be another 13-hourer.

Another big distraction for the day was how much more intense labor pains are the second time around. Wow…no one gave me a heads up on that! But once my hero the anesthesiologist showed up with the epidural, it definitely provided some relief. Unfortunately it was only a little relief. For some reason, it didn’t seem to take quite as much as I remember it working with Tate.

And then finally by 5:00 p.m., things begin to progress. Fast. In fact, really fast. Just like with my labor with Tate, it took forever most of the day, but when it was time, it was time. Things moved really fast, and I had to call the nurses in quick to get the show on the road. The benefit to that is that the really hard part of labor went really fast. It was still pretty hard, and I definitely felt three years older, but before I knew it, they were placing this wonderful baby in my arms. Born at 5:30 p.m. (10 ½ hours later…but who’s counting?)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Will arrived perfectly healthy and with the sweetest sounding muffled cries. At the hospital, they’ve started cleaning the babies off and checking vitals while the baby is in the mother’s arms. It’s kind of amazing to watch considering that two seconds before he was in my body.

For some reason in the video, I look very serious. But I was actually full of awe, happiness, and tears. Will also arrived as a big baby. 8 lbs. 8 oz. My doctor was spot on with her prediction of an 8 ½ lb. baby. Who knows how big he would’ve been a week or so later?

My friend Alyssa should get some kind of award for the help she provided that day. I had assumed Will would be born by the time Tate was out of preschool. That didn’t happen, so she took Tate to her house to play (note that he hadn’t had a nap that day), took him to eat dinner, and had to go buy some more Pull-Ups. Woops. I was nervous about how the logistics would all work out, and she helped to make it effortless for us and the grandparents. Thank you Alyssa!

So about an hour or so after Will was born, the big brother and grandparents got to come meet him. I had no idea what to expect from Tate since he had such a long day. But he was so sweet. I won’t ever forget Wade walking in holding Tate and the HUGE smile he had on his face. Wade brought him over to the bed where I was holding Will.

Tate’s words: “Look, it’s Baby Will! Baby Will is looking at me! (Will really did turn his eyes toward Tate) Now can I have my race cars?”

I was happy with that. At least the first two sentences were ones acknowledging and excited about his brother. Tate’s visit was quick, but he was excited about holding Will and kept looking under his hat and saying over and over that “he has a lot of hair.”

And both sets of grandparents (Grandpa, Mimi, Poppy, & MoMere) were there to meet their 4^th grandchild as well.

All in all, the day was one to be extremely thankful. Will arrived wonderful and healthy. I made it through labor with no complications. And Wade didn’t pass out! :)

In later days I started to get very nostalgic and emotional about that day. Although nothing is 100%, we’re thinking we may just be a two-kid family. So I’ve later wondered if I soaked in the moment enough? Could I remember the last time I felt him kick before he was born? Did I spend too much of the pregnancy complaining about being uncomfortable rather than marveling at the miracle that was growing? Did I soak up every last minute with just Tate?

I’m not sure how good my answers are to those questions, but a friend gave me some good advice about focusing on what’s ahead for our family rather than what has passed.

So as we left the hospital and made it home with our new baby, I had quite the boo-hoo (hormones flowing!) session as I said praises and prayers of thankfulness for this amazing gift of life that has been formed and that we’ve been entrusted with.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” ~ James 1:17

Baby Will Is Here!

William Cullen Strzinek

Thursday, April 15, 2010

5:30 p.m.

8 lbs., 8 oz., 21 inches

Baby Will is here! We of course think he's pretty perfect. We are all doing well and are at home starting the adjustment of becoming a family of 4. Even Big Brother Tate has taken a liking to him.

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for this incredible gift!

The Possibilities Are Endless

Who knows what this little guy will do one day?

Maybe a handyman?

Baseball pitcher?

Or doctor?

I can't wait to watch and find out.

Easter 2010

As with many of our holidays, Easter was celebrated several times this year. It started a couple weeks before with a new activity that I'm sure will be an annual one in the years ahead. The pool/gym/rec center we have a membership to has an Easter egg hunt in the indoor pool. Oddly enough on this day, it was about 40 degrees and rainy outside. But inside was nice and steamy.

Wade had a conflict at the same time, so I was glad that our good friends Clint & Alyssa were there with their two girls. Their oldest, Lauren, helped Tate during his age group's hunt. The funny part is that by the time he got out there most of the eggs were gone. He really could've cared less. He was just excited to be swimming. Sweet Lauren was determined, though, and found a bunch of eggs for him.

And it was perfect timing as Lauren headed to her group's hunt, my Dad showed up to watch the craziness. It really was crazy with so many kids and parents all over the place. And since there was absolutely no way I was going to squeeze into a maternity swimsuit, he was able to help me keep an eye on Tate. That kid doesn't stop moving. Thanks Lauren & Grandpa!

Then at Tate's preschool, his class had an Easter party and egg hunt. He was pretty excited to run around and pick up the eggs. He's not one to stop and open them. He's the type that is running as fast as he can, getting as many as he can. Finally, I had to tell him to stop and leave some for his friends.

Since he finished pretty quickly, he was also just as pleased to put the eggs down and run out onto the basketball court for a few hoops.

We celebrated Easter at our church Saturday night at a wonderful service. We've been reading all of our Easter books and stories, but it still kind of cracked me up that when he would tell what Easter is all about, he still refers to "Baby Jesus." I guess I need to transition from Christmas to Easter a little better.

So on Easter Sunday, Tate woke up and got to go through his Easter basket. No surprise, but the monster truck was the hit. Nothing says Easter like a monster truck!

Then we headed to brunch with the Strzinek side of the family.

And after a quick afternoon nap, we headed over to Mimi & Grandpa's for a yummy pork tenderloin dinner and Tate's own private egg hunt outside.

Yet another wonderful Easter weekend!