Happy Halloween!

Today is Jeremiah's 2nd Halloween. Once again, he's a ferocious lion... RRRRAAAAWWWWRRRR!!! And Jesslyn, a cuddly puppy. Awwww...

A group of neighbors formed at the pipestem as we were getting ready to head out for trick or treating.  Jeremy tagged along with them while Mommy and Jesslyn stayed inside to hand out candy.  Jesslyn promptly decided to have a bottle and fall asleep, which left Mommy with lots of free time to address birth announcements whilst waiting to hand out candy.  

Apparently, Jeremiah wasn't too sure about walking around the neighborhood with all these people wearing masks and face paint.  But after a few houses, he was fine, and was really getting the hang of knocking on doors and taking candy.  Sometimes, he tried to get an extra piece or two, not understanding it's not a free-for-all (though I'm sure many folks had plenty to give out.)  At one point, Jeremy brought him back home (they'd just gone around the outside houses in the neighborhood,) but he whined to go back out.  Guess it was fun!

And yup, Jesslyn slept through the whole thing.   Didn't miss much, though.  We probably had 30 trick or treaters, with enough candy for 150.  At one point, a little girl came up, probably 4 or 5.  I gave her a piece of candy, just like I did her brother, said, "Have a good night!" and closed the door.  She immediately opened the door, saying, "I want another piece of candy..." and casually started digging through our stash before coming out with a blow pop.  "I want a lolli pop," she said, as she walked back out the door.  Stunned, all I could do was say, "ummm... that's kinda rude..." but she ignored me.  Okay, if she'd asked for a second piece, I'd probably given it to her, no problem.  But she opened the door, came in our house (umm... kinda scary, parents, don't you think???) and just helped herself.  Oh, and no "thank you" either.  Someone isn't learning manners in their house....

Ah well.  We have plenty of candy left, of course, and it's really not welcome here.  Jeremiah enjoyed picking through his stash with Daddy, and got all hopped up on sugar.  We have a little video of him spinning in circles, but it has Jesslyn crying in the background, so I dunno if we'll post it.  Suffice to say, he was having a great time (even put on some music for him to dance to!) And he got sticky enough to warrant a bath, even though he had one last night (we're on an every-other-night schedule.) Dreamland came fairly quickly for that one.  :)

And now, pics of cuteness!!!

The "Gang"

Daddy and his "cubs".  On a side note, our neighbor thought I was carrying a "real" puppy, when I was walking around with Jesslyn (when he saw her from behind.) :)  

Too much excitement for this puppy.  She went right out after her bottle!  If only she were this easy during the day...

Oh! She's up!  How 'bout some smiles.... :)

No?  Okay, still cute.

Family shot!  Jeremiah's got a mouthful of candy.  He then spit it out when I asked him, "What do you have in your mouth??"  Yeah....

Awww... so cuddly.  She's not really asleep, just didn't catch her with her eyes open.

"It's Peanut-Butter HAIRCUT Time!"

Well, we were finally sick and tired of Jeremiah's long locks.  So we took a hatchet to 'em!  Okay, not a hatchet, just some fancy electric trimmers.  Despite the ease of the cut itself, there were many tears shed, and feelings hurt.  All Jeremiah's.  Yeah, he was pretty upset.  But he's so cute now!  Really looks like a big boy now!

Before:

After:

7 Weeks!

Yay! Jesslyn's 7 weeks old today! To celebrate, we went to Costco and Target. Woot woot.

And what does being a week older bring, you ask?? Well, the biggest thing we've noticed is her "standing" abilities. If you hold her upright, she will support herself on her legs, just needs you for balance. She's been doing that for a while now, but this week, she seems strong enough to hold herself up with little assistance (except for balance, obviously.)

Umm... what else... Well, both kids had a bit of a cold Mon and Tuesday. Monday was the worst, for Jesslyn. She slept almost all day long (mostly in the swing... easier for her to breathe that way,) and ate hardly anything (mostly because she slept all day, and when she did eat, she gave up quickly since she couldn't breathe well.) Of course, that trend did not carry into the night--she was up every few hours, wanting to eat. But yesterday was much better. She stayed up quite a bit, actually, and ate all day long (making up for Monday, I guess!) So that's good.

Speaking of eating, for those who care and want to know, she's pretty much done breastfeeding. As had happened with Jeremiah, supply issues forced us to supplement, and there's just not much there to entice her to try more than 2-3 times a day. So first thing in the morning, before her afternoon nap, and last thing at night, she nurses, starts to scream, and finishes off with a bottle. Jeremiah made it to 5.5 months, mostly because we tried some things to increase supply (it did help, but not enough to avoid formula, so I didn't bother this time around.) But unlike Jeremiah, Jesslyn has little patience when she's hungry. But it's all good. :)

Finally, Jesslyn got dedicated at our church on Sunday. Ugh, what an eventful day that was... First, I couldn't figure out what to dress her in. I finally settled on a cute pink dress, put it on her, only to notice that one of the seams was ripped all the way up the side. Grrr... Okay, scratch that one. Took it off, found another dress that I thought would work, put that on her. I guess she didn't agree, since only a minute later, it was covered in spit up. Double grrr... Alright, dress #3! Put that one on her, and covered her in a blanket, in case she wanted to repeat her feelings about #2.

Of course, all these changes took time, and we ended up leaving the house a few minutes late. Oh well. They asked us to be there 30 minutes early anyways, so we were still plenty early despite being "late". "Hmmm..." I said, "I wonder where my parents are...." Called 'em up, and yup, they're driving around, looking for the church. Only problem is that their GPS didn't have the latest maps, so it took them to some random location in Loudoun County. Oh boy. By the time we got them on the right path, we had to go into the auditorium.

And that's when Jesslyn decides that, despite being happy all morning, she was going to act up and start to fuss. There we are, standing in front of everyone, and she starts spitting up and whining, etc, etc... So Jim Supp, our campus pastor, is reading the vows we're supposed to agree to, and I'm distracted by her, not really paying attention to what's going on. Luckily, that was the end of the drama, and she did okay while Jim prayed for her when it was her turn.

A few minutes later, after we'd exited the auditorium, my family showed up. Oh well. They tried. But once again, I have no pictures of the dedication. Last time, both of our cameras were dead (someone did take pictures for us, but their camera was acting up, so they're not very good.) This time, we had both cameras charged and ready to go, but no one to use them. AHHHH!!!! I can't win.

Special thanks to Uncle Ben & Auntie Emilia--we found out afterwards that they had made it after all, unbeknown to us. And if anyone else was able to make it, please let us know (especially if you took pics!!)

Anyways, that's enough about that. Now for pics!

Grandma & Jesslyn, minutes after her dedication.

Jeremiah, Jeremy & Jesslyn, outside the church.

The "cupcake-cake" I made for Jesslyn.  And as I had suspected, no good came of this...  I'm glad it's gone.

Jesslyn, today, 7 weeks.  Almost too big for her Moses Basket!!  And in case you were wondering, that outfit is size 3-6 months.  Probably a good thing I put it on her today--might not fit again after it comes out of the wash (she had to spit up on it, after all...)

Such a happy girl!  At least, when she's not hungry, tired, needing to be held, gassy, or just wanting to look around from a vertical position.  :)

Yay! I "won" something!

Thank you, Blog Academy... I'd also like to thank my family--Jeremiah and Jesslyn, who give me so much to blog about in the first place, my loving and supportive husband, Jeremy, who gave me kids to blog about, and most importantly, Paige... If I weren't for her nomination, I wouldn't have to do this. :)

As a recipient of this award, there are rules to follow. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others! The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Fake
4. Your mother? Kooky
5. Your father? Tall
6. Your favorite thing? Kids
7. Your dream last night? Weird
8. Your dream/goal? Kids
9. The room you're in? Messy
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Kidnapping
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Duggers :)
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Thin
15. One of your wish-list items? Vacation
16. Where you grew up? Tiverton
17. The last thing you did? Fed
18. What are you wearing? Clothes :)
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Not
21. Your computer? Noisy
22. Your mood? "Yawwwwwwn!"
23. Missing someone? Hubby
24. Your car? Pimpin' :)
25. Something you're not wearing? Girdle
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Gone...
28. Love someone? Many!
29. Your favorite color? Bluuuuuuuue!
30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Forgot

The bloggers that I'm nominating [sorry folks!]:

Ali
Liz
Harmony
Ted
Katharine
Jeremy (bring back "DFWTO!!!" :)

That's it... I don't think anyone else would do it (and not sure some folks here will do it, either, but ah well...)

Now, for you recipients of this award, here's the deal:
* Display your award.
* Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
* Enjoy your award!

Ha ha!

Hmmm...

Anyone else get the feeling Jeremiah's regressing....??

There's usually not a lot worth talking about when it comes to SNL nowadays... But every now and then, a little gem shows up that cracks us up, and therefore earns a spot here on our blog. Thursday's "Weekend Update" had one of those little gems.

It's right in the middle of the clip--about 1.5 minutes in (the "top stories" part was kinda dumb...) It's Fred Armisen's take on the CNN Touch Map that they like to play with during this election season. If you've ever seen the CNN version, you'll probably find some humor in this. Then again, maybe not. But we were ROFLOAO'ing. :)

Forgot to mention this in the last post...

For those of you in the area, we wanted to let you know that Jesslyn is going to be dedicated this weekend. Really, it's a 'parent dedication' in that we stand before the congregation and promise to do our best to raise Jesslyn up to know God, know His word, and give her all the tools and support that God has given us so that she may someday, hopefully, choose to accept and follow Christ as her Lord and Savior. In a nutshell. :) I'll post links when I'm not on typing on my phone, but the main info is this: Oct 26 @ 10:45 am at the McLean Bible Loudoun campus. More details to come.

Update:  Here's info on the dedication itself.

And here are the directions.

Six Weeks!

Jesslyn is six weeks old today.  My, how time flies.  At the same time, though, it feels like she's been a part of the family forever!  And not in the "negative" way.  It probably has something to do with the fact that we "included" her in our lives when she was still in utero. 

Anyways, life has been good.  In honor of her 6th week, she slept 10 hours straight last night.  She may not be a consistent napper, but boy does she enjoy her nighttime sleep!  Hey, I'll take that.  

Let's see... what else...  Well, when she's not napping (she sleeps a lot during the day, but usually little cat naps before and after a "big" nap) she loves looking around and smiling at Mommy, Daddy or her favorite big brother, Jeremiah.  She still loves to hang out with her lion friend in her playmat/center/thingie, and the mobile attached to her swing.  Like her brother (not many of those...) she's a cuddle bug, and doesn't like being on her back, especially if she's being held.  When you're holding her, she wants to be up and looking around!  Don't hold her like a baby, unless it's sleepy time, unless you want to hear how well she can whine and cry.  :)  And boy can she cry.  We've got our own little "Jekyl & Hyde" here... she's so different when she's upset... And so sweet when she's not.  Ah well.  I wasn't expecting Jeremiah 2.0, after all.  

It's been a crazy week, thus far... Yesterday, I had my 6 week post-partum check up (by myself, since Jeremy had to go to PA for the day, so I had both kids! Yikes!  It went okay, though.)  All is well there, though I kinda got reamed out for gaining 2 lbs...  Well, y'know, that coulda just been a clothing thing... It was warmer when I went for my 2 week than yesterday.  But whatever.  I'm still over 10 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight, so I still feel good.  Now that we're at the 6 week mark, I'll feel better about getting out and moving around more than before (since she was in the NICU, I never had a chance to really relax and recover during those first two weeks when Jeremy was off.  So I took that time afterwards.)   ANYWAYS!  Yeah, so we did that, came home, tried to nap (Jeremiah refused, much to my dismay...,) went to visit Miss Mary, since she was so awesome to bring us dinner and cupcakes (and left them, since I was at my appt.)  Headed to Costco for a few things (funny how it's always "a few things" going in and ends up being "a lot of things" on the way out...)  Yeah.  Crazy.

Today was nuts in the afternoon.  After a good nap was had by all (Jeremiah slept 3 hours, Jesslyn 3 hours, after a few interruptions when the binky popped out, and I even got about an hour or so,) we headed to Tysons to pick up Daddy so he could pick up his car from the shop in Springfield.  We then stopped at the mall for dinner before meeting up with someone from Craigslist who had some free formula for Jesslyn (love Craigslist!  And it's so nice to see people giving away the formula they received for free in the first place... So many people try to sell it, and that's so annoying... But I digress...)  After a quick stop at Walmart (super busy, even at 9 at night!) and a fill up at the gas station (how does this math make sense... regular: $2.97; plus: $3.41; premium: $3.51.  Glad our vehicles don't require 91 or higher...) we headed home to put some tired kids to bed.  Well, it's almost midnight and Jesslyn is just now asleep... maybe she'll sleep 'til 8 or 9... that'd be sweet.

Tomorrow, I'm staying home.  Probably take the kids outside, if it's nice, but yeah, not going anywhere, I don't think.  The weekend should be quiet, too, though there are a lot of Halloween things going on that we may take Jeremiah to (our neighborhood is having a parade, the next neighborhood over is doing a haunted house, most malls are doing stuff and having trick or treating, etc...)  

Okay.  That's enough.  How about some pics?

New "toy"

Amazon had the Aquadoodle play mat on sale for less than $10 this week, so I ordered one for Jeremiah.  He loves to play with his chalk outside, so I figured he'd enjoy being able to do some "art" inside, without stressing Mommy out.  And, by golly, I think it worked!  :)  He had a great time drawing all sort of "stuff" all over the mat (and yes, he did 'test' out the marker to see if it worked on the regular walls, too... Ha ha!  It doesn't!)  

Hopefully, he doesn't get sick of it too fast.  

(Can you see Jesslyn in any of these pics???  She's in there somewhere! "Where's Jesslyn?!")

$5 off $25 @ Whole Foods

Well, I was on my way to bed, but saw this and just had to post it, knowing that many of my readers (makes it sound like there's a lotta ya!) shop at the Whole Foods around here.

Get $5 off a purchase of $25 or more with coupon. Three will print out on the page. You can find the coupon here, courtesy of sage-parenting.com. One coupon per person/day (bring the hubby!) Expires 10/22, so get shopping!

We don't shop there often, since it's kinda outta the way, but there are a few things that we buy that we could get there (like Jeremiah's Kashi oatmeal, which seems to be impossible to find in the regular grocery stores, in the flavor he likes.) And you know it's good stuff when they always send the Top Chef contestants there for their elimination challenges! So now you yourself can save a little green while going "green". :)

One Month Checkup

Well, we just got home from a busy morning. Jesslyn had her one month checkup today, and all is well. She's 13 lbs, 5 oz now, and a 1/4 inch longer than at her post-NICU checkup (though we still find it hard to believe that she grew a whole inch in 8 days... I guess it's possible, but still seems a bit unlikely...) She's now in the 50th percentile for weight!! Well, if she were 4 months old, at least... for her age, 99th!! Yeah, she's crushing Jeremiah in the "biggest baby" race. He was big, and she's even bigger. Crazy.

Interesting night/morning, though... I went to bed early (well, "earlier") to capitalize on her sleep schedule, and it worked. I got almost 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which was very nice. She went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 4 a.m. Not too shabby (esp. considering most one month olds sleep for 4 hour stretches, not 6+.) She went back to sleep shortly before 5, and didn't wake up until 8:30! Very nice to wake up in the morning, and have time to shower before either child wakes up. By the time I was dressed, Jeremiah was stirring, so I got him up and dressed first. As soon as he was dressed, Jesslyn was wailing, ready to eat. Somehow, in less than an hour, I was showered/dressed/make-up'd, Jeremiah was dressed, and Jesslyn was changed and fed, and we were out the door ready to pick up Jeremy (after sitting in traffic for a few minutes...) Not bad, not bad.

Funny thing about the doctors--Jeremiah cried WAAAAY more than Jesslyn (not that she had much reason to, since there were no shots today.) As soon as the nurse came in to weigh and measure her, Jeremiah started WAILING! We kept telling him, "It's okay, we're here for Jesslyn, not you!!" Didn't help. He does NOT trust the nurses there. Poor thing. At least he trusts our doctor, so he was fine during her whole exam. But yeah, on the way out, another nurse smiled at him, and he turned to me to pick him up... Silly boy.

So now we're home, after having a quick lunch at the mall. Jeremiah's in his crib, playing (uh oh... he'd better nap!) and Jesslyn is in her little play thing, talking to Mr. Lion. Hopefully she'll be ready for a nap soon, so Mommy can lay down for a few minutes. If not, I think I'll be okay without a nap. Wouldn't mind one, though! It's a good day for it, too--kinda overcast with a slight chance of rain. Warm and muggy, not the best day to be outside playing (too sticky.) We'll see, I guess!

Tonight's The Office/SNL/South Park night (from last night.) Another good night of TV (we have 7 shows that we watch during the "season".... Three of them are on Mondays, two tonight, and one each Wed and Fri. Something to look forward to, get ya through the week. :)

And she's starting to get antsy. TTFN, ta ta for now!

5 Weeks!

Jesslyn thought she would commemorate her 5 week birthday by sleeping for 8 hours straight last night! WHAT?!?! Yes, 8 hours. Unfortunately, it wasn't the 8 I would have liked. She slept from 9 p.m. 'til 4:55 a.m. Jeremy and I didn't go to bed, though, until 1 a.m.... Was waiting for her to wake up... Kept telling myself, 'she'll be up any minute, so why go to sleep??' Well, any minute turned out to be 4/5 hours later... But that's okay. I get it now, and am thusly prepared. Instead of staying up to watch the debate/South Park, I'm folding her clothes, and then going to bed, since she herself just went to bed. But I had to take a quick pit stop on my way to dreamland to put up these pics and a video for ya. Such a cutie!

I've dubbed this one her "Laura Bush" face. Am I the only one who sees it?? Maybe it's a bit of a stretch after all. Meh.

Back to the daily grind.

Today is Tuesday. But Tuesday after a holiday weekend. Which really means, today is Monday. While it may not really be Monday in the literal sense, it sure does feel like it, huh? Of course, not everyone was given the day off yesterday, which is just a crying shame. I mean, if there's a federal holiday, everyone should get it off! Well, at least those who aren't in a "well being" position (i.e. police, fire dept, hospitals all need to keep going for the "well being" of the city/town/etc in which we live.) And those who have to work should receive holiday pay! Seriously, who wants to work when a good chunk of their friends, neighbors and families have off??? Not that I had to work. Well, not outside the home. :)

Despite having that extra day off, it was hardly relaxing. Just busy busy busy! Sunday was pretty relaxing, though, so we did get one "day off" in that sense. Saturday was spent out in Warrenton, hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. That was the biggest break I've gotten since Jesslyn was born--Grandpa took Jeremiah to the park, Grandma was all over Jesslyn when she was awake, though she slept most of the time. So Mommy and Daddy got to chill and watch Iron Man. I just wanted to take a nap, though... At least we watched a movie I'd been wanting to see, vs Fox News or CNN, which is usually Jeremy's viewing option of choice (so sick of it...)

Yesterday was the busiest day of 'em all. Made a Costco run to get some "stuff" (you know, those two or three things that you go there for, and then end up leaving with a cart-full?? Yeah....) and that took up most of our mid-day. Came home and put Jeremiah down for a late night, fed Jesslyn, had a late lunch, etc, etc... Grandma and Grandpa came by later to pick up Jeremy's parents for dinner. Daddy then played with Jeremiah, while Mommy finished folding and putting all the laundry away and picking up upstairs. So on and so forth. The end result of all my hard work--we have our bedroom back! YAY! The pack and play we had set up for Jesslyn is now downstairs, since Jeremiah insists on patting her, or stroking her hair when she's sleeping in her moses basket. I'm hoping using the pack and play will help! At the very least, it's outta our room, which makes our room feel so much bigger now! I'd forgotten how big it was. :)

Anyways, that brings us to Monday.... err... Tuesday. :) I'm sitting in the family room with Jesslyn sleeping on my chest, and Jeremiah sitting next to me, watching Fireman Sam on Sprout! It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, though I'm fine with just chillin' at home. We'll go out after Jeremiah's nap this afternoon! :)

Everything else is going well around here. Jesslyn's sleeping better at night. She usually sleeps 5-6 hours at a time, with a 2-3 hour nap after waking up in the morning. The other night was another 7+ hour night, though! YAY! So she's doing really well. My main complaint is the way she eats/sleeps throughout the day. Instead of just eating all at once, she nurses, eats 2-3 oz, stays up to play, and then will randomly want to eat another 1-2 oz before MAYBE falling asleep again (which only lasts a few minutes, usually, and then it's back up for more snacking.) But she does seem to take three naps a day that last for more than 1.5/2 hours, with one usually during Jeremiah's, which gives me a break. YAY!! :) So yeah, things are good!

Well, I just realized she's cutting off the circulation to my hand... pins and needles are not fun. And Jeremiah's got a stinky diaper. yay... So I'm gonna go take care of both those things. How 'bout a couple of cute sibling pics??

Post bath Jeremiah & Photo Op Jesslyn (sounds like a couple of Barbies...)

From this morning. Jeremiah wanted to hold his baby sister. SO SWEET! Though we do worry when he tries to pick her up when she's upset... She's too heavy for him to actually do it, but that doesn't stop him from trying!

(lol, just noticed it looks like Jesslyn's picking her nose...)

Awww... lots of loving for Jesslyn from Jeremiah!

What do you think?

I went back in the blog, trying to find baby pictures of Jeremiah where he and Jesslyn look similar. This was the best I could come up with--both 4 weeks old.

And looking through the rest of the pics just reinforces the fact that, yeah, they look nothing alike... At least, not at this point! But I tell ya, even if she's not in pink, I think she's got quite a girly look. It's her eyes, I think. Of course, I'm biased, so who knows.

One Month!

And that gown was on all of 15 minutes before she spit up EVERYWHERE! Luckily, Daddy was holding her when it happened, so he got to deal with it. :) I've changed my shirt enough times today already.

While she's still hit or miss, as far as sleeping at night goes, she's had two better nights in a row (first night was 5 hours, though not at the hours I would have liked, then again last night, from 11:30 p.m. 'til almost 6 a.m.) That's encouraging!

I thought Jeremiah had done a better job of sleeping at night than she has been, but after looking back in the blog, he didn't have his first night of 6 hours straight until he was 1 month, 5 days old! And she did 7 hours at 3 weeks! So I guess she's doing alright after all. We think he was more consistent, though, in that he would sleep 4 hours/time. She will usually sleep in three hour blocks, but sometimes only 2 or so. I dunno... But I treasure those longer "naps" when they do occur, that's for sure! :)

....and 21 months!

Whoops, day late on this. But I assure you, nothing's changed in the past 24 hours. :)

So yes, Jeremiah is 21 months! Crazy---he'll be two soon! YIKES! He's grown up so quickly, which didn't become blatantly obvious until Jesslyn came around.

And just like the last post, I've got nothin' else to say--just can't think. I'd just like to add that he absolutely adores his sister! Seriously, I couldn't ask for a better big brother for Jesslyn. He's so sweet. What a great kid.

Four Weeks!

Our little girl is four weeks old, just days away from one month! Time flies when you're having fun (or are sleep deprived.... days just blur together...) Speaking of sleep, I'm tired, so I'm having a tough time putting sentences together right now. I'll let the pics and video speak for itself. :)

Wild for lions...

This was how I got my shower in today... She woke up from her nap right before I was going to get in. But that's the way things are 'round here, I guess! She enjoyed herself, though, and when I came out of the bathroom, she was "talking" to the lion, laughing, smiling, and having a grand ole' time! So cute!

And with that, I'm going to bed... hoping for a repeat of last night! Not sure it'll happen, though, since she's been kinda "off" tonight, so far.... Jeremiah had his off nights, too, when he was her age, and he was still sleeping through the night (6+ hours) by 6 weeks (and has been sleeping 10-12 since well before one! Don't remember when he started that, exactly... maybe 4 months? Something like that.)






Thanks again to "Cousin" Jaime & Anthony, and "Great" Aunt Frannie! She loves it!