11 weeks down, 29 more to go

I did a dissmal job of journaling my last 2 pregnancies. I am taking this suprise third one as an opprotunity to write things down (and maybe take some pictures!). I love LOVE being pregnant and want to remember it forever.
So, here I am 11 weeks today and at this point? Not so enjoying it :( The morning sickness held off long enough that I though perhaps I would escape it this time. It appeared around 9 weeks - what the heck??? It has peeked this week. Yesterday was by far the worst day ever! Today, not so bad - no puking but then maybe I would feel better if I did (that didn't work yesterday but worked up until then). What settles my stomach seems to change daily. Some days salty snacks and other days sweet snacks. It is hit or miss and breakfast is always an interesting time for me. I generally bring 3 or 4 different things to work and try them all until something works. I hope that I am almost out of the woods on this. It went away around 14 weeks with Ryan and 18 weeks with Rachel.
I can feel my uterus now - above my pelvic bone but below my belly button. It feels about the size of a large softball which I think is about right for now. Some days I need maternity pants but I think that is more bloating than anything else.
I have some weird insomnia that I remember getting with Ryan. I can fall asleep fine but then I wake up around 4 and have the worst time sleeping after that. This means that I am ready to crawl under my desk by 2 most afternoons :)
Onions. Did you know that they are the weed of the devil? Seriously they are fatal to me right now! Even one little piece and I will have horrendous heart burn for hours. I just have to avoid them for the time being (which isn't hard since I don't really love them anyway). Oh and hot food is kind of grossing me out. All I want to eat are sandwiches and fruit. Too bad the deli meat is off limits for now :(
No belly pictures for now because you really don't need to see my left over pooch from kid A and kid B :)

Ryan, the hot dog snob

We live in Rochester, NY. The city is known for Kodak mostly, but also for some serious hot dogs.
Zweigles to be more specific. Now, I am not a huge fan of hot dogs at all, but I will get one of these at the ballpark every summer because, after all, what's a ball game without a hot dog?
ANYWAY, when we got out to eat locally (and we go out a lot sadly) Ryan almost always gets a hot dog. They are almost always Zweigles.
For Rachel's party we bought a huge pack of hot dogs at B.J.s - since we had 50 people coming over. Last night I told Ryan we were having hot dogs (and all the other party leftovers) for dinner. He told me that he didn't want the "yucky" ones from Rachel's party! When I asked why they were yucky he said they just were and they were to tiny. I think he meant skinny!
My boy child - a true Rochestarian* :)

* He can also identify a Wegmans truck on the road as well as requesting Abbotts for ice cream :)

One finger old!

Yesterday was Rachel's BIG day and what a great day she had!!!

The weather couldn't have been better - 80's and sunny with just a little breeze - which is great considering that we had almost 50 people coming to our house! There was plenty of food and drinks (and cake, of course!). And no lack of presents for the princess. We had a pinata (or a pana as Ryan called it) for all the kids that were in attendance and I realized that the birthday Princess was the only girl at her party! She had a harem of boys ranging from 2 to 6 years old! Lucky girl :)

She got GREAT gifts - too many clothes, but I kind of expected that! From Mommy and Daddy she got a newborn Cabb*age P*atch, from Aunt Renee a sheep rocker, Aunt Kara bought her books and a footprint charm for her bracelet (since she will, God willing, start walking this year!).

Ryan made out well too! Rachel gave him a D*ora lego set, he got some clothes and the coolest Auntie ever gave him a S*piderman slip & slide. Rob just called me to tell me that Ryan was bugging him about playing with it and then went upstairs for a little bit. He came back down in his bathing suit! How cute is that????

In honor of becoming a big girl, Rachel decided that she could, in fact, sit herself up! After practicing all day Saturday, she is now a pro at it! Go, Baby Girl, Go!!!

Rachel's big birthday post!!!

Hard to believe that a year ago today I was meeting with neonatologists to discuss what the situation may be after I give birth and this morning I was lugging cupcakes to the sitter's to celebrate that birth!
It's been a hell of a year - the whole preemie thing still gets me and I find myself saying "well, she was a preemie" at least once or twice a week! I hate that! She is a beautiful baby girl regardless of what she can (or can't) do!
That reminds me - I never did write about her EI evaluation. Basically what is boiled down to was that she was on target for her adjusted age in every area EXCEPT her gross motor skills. She was on par with 6 month olds (she was 9 almost 10 months adjusted). The therapist said her joints are hypotonic (which means she is a loosey goosey to the hilt!). Fortunately they don't seem to think that it is a sign of anything more serious, most likely it is caused by a combination of developing w/out amniotic fluid for a while and genetics (I am freakishly flexible and was a late walker as well). So she qualifies for an hour a week of physical therapy.
In the 3 weeks she has been receiving the therapy she has started scootching! YAY for scootching! She has also gotten herself to a seated position twice but no one saw her do it! She was laying down and then she was sitting. It's like the proverbial tree falling in the woods!!!
So, in a nut shell here is Rachel at 1:
Rachel has been overly healthy! She has had one cold all year! That is it! Did the Synagis help? Maybe, but then Ryan is a pretty healthy kiddo as well. I just grow em that way I guess!
* FOOD! Loves anything and everything! Her favorites are strawberries, hamburgers, ice cream, watermelon, basically anything sweet. She was fully weaned at 11 months, had about 3 weeks of formula and then went to whole milk. She is indifferent to it really. If it's in the right cup she will suck it down, otherwise she could care less about it.
* about weaning: it was a slow process honestly. Around 9 months I cut out on of my 2 daily pumping sessions but still nursed her in the am and before bed. At 10 months I cut out the second one and at 11 months she was no longer showing an interest in nursing at all. I feel like we did a combo mommy/baby led weaning thing and it worked for us. She never acted like she needed it (but she's not an overly cuddly baby to begin with so I think she always viewed it as nutritional more than comforting). I am hapy with the whole thing. I never thought I'd nurse even close to that long anyway!
*SLEEP! Rachel is an angel sleeper! 2 naps, and down for the night at 7:30 - sleeps until 6:30. I can't complain. If only she could teach her brother how to do that!!!
Things she can do:
Sit unsupported (if you put her there)
clap
wave
bang things together (LOUDLY)
feed herself - she will occasionally entertain the thought of a spoon but fingers are faster and this girl loves her food!
SCREECH if she doesn't get her way :)
THings she can say:
Mommy
Ha (this means hat and is said as she is putting her bowl (usually full of food) on her head
No
Yayan - we are pretty sure this is Ryan as it is said when he is not around OR when he is annoying her!
So, all in all, pretty damn good for a 35 weeker who couldn't quite figure out the whole breathing thing a year ago, huh?

Rachel at 4 days old - off CPAP but still needing some O2

Rachel at 2 months still wearing preemie clothes

4 months on Halloween

Chubby at 6 months

A 9 month old Rachel Bunny!

A bathing beauty at almost 11 months

the most beautiful birthday girl in the WORLD!!!

So much happening....

Alright - I still haven't made a final decision but for weeks I have been thinking about closing the blog. I never write anymore, I never have anything exciting to say, and well, I am boring.
I like blogging - I love reading blogs even more! If I could just sit down for 10 minutes every day and write I think I would be less overwhelmed by writing an entry.
The kids are doing so many amazing things that I really want to remeber that perhaps I should contine writing!
What the heck???
Now for our REALLY big news.....
I am, most unexpectantly and shockingly, PREGNANT!!! YUP! After finally deciding that our family of 4 was perfect, fate decided we should be a party of 5!!!
I'm due around mid-January (I will be 10 weeks tommorrow).
So I didn't write about this before because honestly, I wasn't very excited about it until recently. I was actually more upset and scared than anything. Now our families know and seem excited and I guess it has worn off on us, because we are pretty happy!
This changes everything - I need a bigger car (I am pretty sure 3 car seats won't fit in an Elantra!), if it is another girl the kids will have to swap rooms since Ryan's is much bigger and could accomodate 2 kids. All logistical I know. The one thing that we know we have enough of is love.
I am still freaked out though - Ryan will be just over 3 and Rachel will be 18 months when this one comes! YIKES! My new theory is to raise them like a liter of puppies! At least there will always be someone to play with, right?
So, those of you with 3 - what's it REALLY like?????

Mexican Fest, allergies, laziness and the weekend to come

We had a Cuatro De Mayo party here at work for lunch today. It was fun - the food was good and it was a nice distraction. I have, however, noticed increased raffic flow to the rest rooms!!!
The beautiful day of gardening I had on WEdnesday has officially kicked off allergy season for me! Saved by Benadr*l but I seriously can only take that while lying down in bed and with nothing ahead for 6-8 hours!
I have been so tired lately - like bone tired. Wednesday I fell asleep in Ryan's bed with him and woke up at 10 and went to my own bed! At any time of day I could probably close my eyes and LAY DOWN! So exhausted!
This weekend - WALKAMERICA!!! The weather is supposed to be GREAT! Rachel's Proud NICU Graduate shirt is in and is adorable! I can't decide if she should wear the pink or the green capri pants with it though :) It amazes me how much she has grown since she was born. I remember looking at her and thinking how impossible it seemed that she would actually ever be as cubbilicious as Ryan was in infanthood and now she is even more delicious than I ever could have dreamed!
Tuesday is her Early Intervention evaluation. I am kind of excited for it. I am interested in seeing where she falls over all for babies her age. Oh and Tuesday my dad is being honored at a luncheon so Rob and I will be going to that as well. We are also going to the circus next week - how fun does that sound????
And to end - a picture!
This is Rachel last month (so almost 10 months). If you look hard you can see the 2 bottom teeth!

I match!

It appears that my pants match my blog today! It is supposed to be in the upper 60's so capri pants it is! I am so glad the weather is finally decent around here - the lack of sun was really starting to get to me. I was only half joking when I told Rob I thought I was suffering from seasonal affect disorder!
Yesterday was the United Way Day of Caring. My team from work spent the day gardening and washing windows at the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse. This is pretty much where old nuns go (and some priests). There is skilled nursing, assisted living, and a memory care unit. So it was pretty fun - the nuns were very interested in us and the Bishop was there celebrating mass which we were invited to join in for. I am going to count it as my church obligation for the week since Sunday is the March of Dimes Walk America! We are walking in honor of Rachel and raising money as thanks for all the resaerch and support MOD has done to help preemies like Rachel.

Look at me!!!

Just some spring cleaning of the old (tired and seldom updated blog!) Also a more recent picture of me and the kids. By recent I mean Thanksgiving of 2006! Rachel is much bigger now and Ryan, well, he is still Ryan!

10 & 31

I have been a terrible blogger! So terrible, but I want to change! Isn't that half the battle, really?

So starting today I am going to post every day (except maybe the weekends because blogger and my home computer are not very friendly!)

I'll start with the kiddie update:

Rachel

10 months old! Rachel had her 9 month well baby visit 2 weeks ago. She was 27 and a half inches and 17 pounds 4 oz - not to bad for a preemie, huh? Everything else checked out fine but we are getting an evaluation by Early Intervention for her gross motor skills. She is not moving. Plain and simple. She can roll, but doesn't. She can sit, but only if you put her there. Part of it, I think, is contentment. She is just very easy going and will sit if you sit her, lay down if you put her on her back and not complain at all about either. However, it appears that the muscle tone in her legs is very weak so off to therapy we go! I did read something about preemies and mucle tone development. Apparently the time spent developing outside the womb can hinder their development. Given that she only spent 5 weeks outside it seems that this could be a reasonable reason for her mild delay.

Other than that she is an absolute ANGEL! She is off baby food entirely and eats what we are eating every meal! She feeds her self, thank you very much! And does a pretty good (albeit messy) job of it!

She hasn't said any new words since last month I don't think although she does now say "mo" when she is done with what you have given her to eat and wants more. I am calling it a word! Rob agrees :)

2 teeth - bottom ones (first one came in 3/18). Occasional bouts of late night teething but it appears that Hylands Teething Tablets are the BOMB! Pop a couple in her mouth and she is good for the rest of the night!

I have stopped pumping at work so Rachel gets 2 4 oz bottles of formula a day. She doesn't seem to mind and will actually take a bottle from me. Sometime this month I plan to transition the second bottle to a sippy cup since she seems to need a snack around then as well.

Out of her infant carrier and in her big girl car seat. She seems happier now and loves to play in the car and stare at Ryan while I am driving. her favorite game is to remove her hat and wave it aruond victoriously until I call her out on it and then she stops and looks like "how does she know what I am doing???" - I have a mirror!

still loves riding around in the sling. I use it whenever we go somewhere with a single kid cart or if I just don't want to deal with the double stroller.

Ryan

What can I say that hasn't been said before? Ryan is still cracking me up all the time, but he is also challengin me at every turn! Rob says it is because he is just like me an when he gets an idea in his head there is no changing his mind. He is probably right :)

Also, can anyone tell me why he feels the need to SQUEEZE his sister???? OH and knock her down all the time? It is driving me crazy!!!

9 & 30

So I am a little late in posting Rachel's 9 month post and a little early in Ryan's 30 month post - it balances out!
Rachel
9 months! How did that happen? She is such a sweet little girl and so darn cute as you can well see!
This past month brought Rachel's first illness - not sure what it was, but she was sick for a good 2 weeks and so was I! Fun times I tell you. She had a cold and then her eyes were all goopy, and then the cough, and fatigue - she slept 20 hours on Rob's birthday! Being cautious about her preemie-ness I had her at the doctor 3 times. So after 3 visits, one chest x-ray, and a round of antibiotics (for the alleged early stages of an ear infection - I am a bad mommy, I didn't give her the full dose) it was determined that we probably had the flu. We are recovered and Rachel received her very last EVER Synagis injection 2 weeks ago. She was 17 pounds even. She sees the pediatrician next week for her well baby visit.
Food
Rachel easts like a champ! She still nurses 4 times a day (or takes a bottle) but the good news is that she will now take a little formula with her BM! YAY! I only have to pump once a day now! She eats what we are eating for the msot part. If we are having something heavy or spicy she has macaroni. Her pincher grasp rocks now and she focuses so intently on her food that meal time with her is very enjoyable.
Last week my FIL watched the kids and gave her: 1/2 a pice of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, watermelon, and then a jar of baby food! That was the night that I was christened in puke by one of my kids! Fun times all around. Of course Rob was working and she did it 3 times and then had 2 nasty diapers. She was fine after that though.
development
Rachel sits like a champ. She also rolls when she wants to and reaches for everything she can get her chubby little hands on. Still does not want to use her legs at all and would rather lay than sit. She gets her developmental eval this month as well.
She is right on target socially! She played peek a boo last weekend for the first time (well the first time that she initiated the game, she will kiss you bakc but only if you make a bog MWAH! when you kiss her. She says Dada to Rob occasionally and MaMa when she is tired, hungry, or upset (aren't I lucky?). She laughs and loves to be tickled and played with. She hates baths passionatly and is very leery of Ryan still. He can play with her but only when she deems it to be okay. Yes, she is a princess!

Ryan
2 and a half! WOW! That sounds so much closer to 3 than I ever imagined he'd be! He is quite a personality. 85% of the time I want to kiss him and 15% I want to strangle him! I am guessing it is typical 2.5 behavior!
Still talking up a storm and still challenging me at every turn
Since I am just finishing this up a month later I can't remember which Ryanisms are from March and which are from April so I will just post them in the next post I am doing (later this morning!)

8 & 29

This kids are 8 months and almost 29 months! How crazy! I have started telling people that Ryan is 2 and a half already (he will be in a month!). And Rachel - 8 months! How crazy is that?!!?!
So here they are:
Rachel at 8 months
It seems that the best way to get Rachel to start doing a new skill is to complain about it on the blog! Right after I posted last month she started rolling! And rolling, rolling, rolling! She manages to get stuck behind her bedroom door and she tries to get under her crib all the time - silly girl! Earlier this week I left her in the middle of her room and took a shower. I got out and she was cooing away but sounded really close. I thought she had just rolled to the heat vent (which is connected to the one in the bathroom) and that was why she sounded so close. NOPE! She was right outside the door! Time to gate the stairs again...
Rachel attempts to sit and as of last night she is able to spend a few seconds unassisted and then she topples over. I think another week or so.

*scratch that* I wrote this on 2/23 and by 2.26 she was able to sit all be herself! Of course, Ryan now likes to play "baby bowling" and see how easily he can knock her down

She is following Ryan's patterns of development (a few months behind, but the time between new skills is eerily similar). She is really vocal but no distingishable sound yet. She needs to get her hearing checked next month because of the horrible antibiotics she received in the NICU, but I think she is alright, just a slow talker (which is fine given that Ryan never shuts up!). Dadada was her string of choice but now she is on to bababa. And still with the Ah-ooOO when she wants attention (and the slamming her legs onto the floor, crib mattress, whatever surface she happens to be laying on).
Food
Rachel eats a full jar of baby food 3 times a day. I feel kind of bad - I made most of Ryan's baby food, but I can't seem to find the time to do the same for Rachel. Second child syndrome I guess!
She seems to like everything we give her but sweet potatoes are the favorite by far! I was giving her fruit puffs and she got the concept of hand to mouth but has a really hard time actually getting one in! I opened the sweet potato ones and then she figured it out! She noshes on those and cheerios while we are eating dinner. She gets a sippy of water but isn't really very interested in it yet. I have also started giving her pieces of what we are eating and she really chews them! It's very cute to see this little toothless angel chewing away on pasta, bread, veggies, fruit.

She is still nursing, but again showing little interest in it (except first thing in the morning - she is like a boob junkie when she wakes up). I am still pumping twice a day and plan on doing so for another month and then dropping one session. I seem to be getting less and less milk, but then I noticed that when I send her to the sitter with two 6 ounce bottles, 2-3 ounces come back home. So I have just been sending her what I have pumped and that seems to be working okay. She no longer wants to nurse when I get home from work (which is nice because I can eat dinner in peace) but she is insistent on a bedtime nursing whereas before she was willing to skip that one. I don't mind, I am letting her lead the way... I think she will be self-weaned by her birthday or soon after though.
She's a cutie for sure, but so BALD! By 8 months Ryan had 2 real haircuts! Doesn't that just figure - the boy has a full head of hair and eyelashes I covet! Rachel's eyes have turned decidely green - just like her mommy! She still looks a lot like Rob though! Actually she looks like his sister in her baby pictures! Too funny!

Ryan

Ryan is 29 months old. Another month and I can start calling him two and a half! He is, in short, a genius! His verbal skills are superior, his motor skills rock, and most importantly he is a very creative thinker. He is a story teller through and through (occasionally I'll have to check with the sitter to see if it is a story or the truth) and has very specific ideas about how things should be. He is getting somewhat easier to discipline as he is able to understand the consequences to his actions (sometimes) and last weekend was told that he needed to nap in order to go to Papas. When he not only didn't nap but trashed his room instead, we called papa and cancelled our visit. Ryan sobbed for almost an hour afterwards. Broke my heart but it had to be done!

Mostly for this month I want to remember Ryan's words:

"bunglebees" - Bumblebees

"pot-tohns" popcorn

"locodile" - crocodile

"lavaololis" - ravioli

"puddun" pudding (with "team" - whipped cream)

He calls Rachel "achel", "baby duhl" "guhl"

"wafwafs" - waffles

"slevin" - seven

I am sure there are more but these are the funniest ones

When I tell him Daddy is at work he just sighs and says "making the meatball sauce".

We are going to Rhode Island for my FIL retirement in May and Ryan loves to talk about our upcoming trip:

"going to see Papa on the big boat, going in a simmin pool, gonna see mickey mouse, and donald mouse..." Not sure if he thinks we are going to Orlando after R.I. but won't he be sad to learn we are not. I did also tell him we are going to the aquarium and that they have fish so he has added "gonna see dolphins and sharks!" Hmmm, maybe I had better check it all out and let him know exactly what we will see!

Size wise Ryan is a peanut! Maybe a little taller, still around 25 pounds (he was 26 with his snow boots on). Wearing all 2T tops and 18-24 month pants. He is doing good on the potty so he is wearing pull ups now. He likes to pee standing up, but doesn't understand the difference between peeing and pooping and gets them confused all the time (and yes he has pooped on the floor because of this!)

Month 7

It is so hard to believe that the Rachel Girl is 7 months old already!!!
It has been an uneventful month for her (which in my opinion is a good thing). At her last Synagis injection she was 15 lbs 2 oz (I am guessing about 26 inches). It was funny - she was happy and laughing until the nurse walked in the house and she saw her. Took one look and started to cry! Poor Baby KNEW what she was in for. She had her normal 3 days of a runny nose after the shot (how weird is that).
Rachel is still not rolling over. She can go tummy to back but only once (and she was really angry) has she gone back to tummy. I like to think it is laziness, but I am beginning to wonder if it is something more. If she hasn't mastered it in a month I think we will go see the doctor again. Other things she doesn't do - bear weight on her legs. Again something I hope she masters this month. I think her efforts have been so focused on growing for the last 7 months that her development has taken a back seat. Perhaps that will change soon!
Ryan is the most hysterical 2 year old I have ever known! He uses complete sentences on a pretty regular basis and I think we can understand what he is saying 95% of the time. He understands so much more than I thought he could at this age, but I am so glad for it. He loves doing "projects" with his baby sitter and coloring pictures for everyone (although paint is his preferred medium!). We took him to see D*sney on Ice last week and he had such a great time! Totally worth the $8 popcorn, right? Most recent cute Ryanism: Last night I was feeding Rachel some sweet potatoes and Ryan was whining for some pudding. I told him he had to wait and asked him to tell his sister a story while he waited. He thought for a minute and then said "Once upon a time there was a big, Big BIG monster. He ate all the pudding. The end!" I laughed so hard I got tears in my eyes! Ooh and he told me when I was home sick with a wicked sinus infection Monday that I was "pretty like a princess". Just one more way my boy is being groomed to be the perfect husband :)

Happy Friday!

Check out the legs!!!

I love baby rolls!!!

Happy 2007!!!

We were unable to get our act together enough to send out Christmas cards so I am sending New Year's cards. Also, I have never sent a letter with our cards, but what the heck? We had an AMAZING year :) Here is the letter we are sending:
Happy 2007! We hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season and that you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. We’ve never really written a “Christmas” letter in the past but we feel that with all the excitement we have had this year it was warranted.
2006 started out with Ryan in full blown toddler mode – he was so much fun – most of the time! We already knew that we would be adding to our family and in February we found out a daughter would be rounding out our clan!

Rachel Louise entered our lives at 12:05am on Saturday, June 24th. She was born 5 weeks to soon and weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 inches long (yes, that is as skinny as it sounds). It seemed that Miss. Rachel’s lungs were not quite ready for the outside world and she spent some time in the Special Care Nursery at Rochester General Hospital. She spent several days on oxygen and antibiotics and then a few days just resting and eating. The nurses who cared for her were amazing and made us feel so much more comfortable leaving every evening without our baby girl. Thanks to the incredible medical staff at RGH we were able to bring home with us on the 4th of July (10 days after her birth).

Ryan was beside himself to have a companion in the car on the ride home from the hospital (he was to young to visit) and continues to be enamored with his “baby girl” six months later! Rachel was such a sweet and peaceful newborn that our transition from a family of three to a family of four went very smoothly (not counting the two kid time warp we get into every time we try to leave the house!).

We spent the summer just getting to know our little beauty and watching Ryan grow. We also visited with family in Michigan towards the end of the summer and both kids had a wonderful time getting to know their extended family. October brought about Rachel’s baptism (her God Parents are her Uncle Mike (Rob’s brother) and Kara (Andrea’s best friend) and Ryan’s second birthday! Is it possible that he is already two???

At two, Ryan is sleeping in a real bed and beginning to potty train (wish us luck!). He loves Sponge Bob, Little Einsteins (or any other Playhouse Disney show), Hockey (watching it on t.v. and playing air hockey at Papa Tony’s), books, singing, and various assorted mischief and mayhem!

In the six months since her birth, Rachel has morphed into a 14 pound 6 ounce beauty! She has a smile that can light up a room. She currently loves laughing, stealing toys from the dog, rolling onto her back, and eating sweet potatoes (hey, what else do you do at 6 months! I was tempted to lie and add quantum physics to her list of favorites, but who would believe that???) She has been such a joy to us and truly is our little miracle girl!

Rob and Andrea have done nothing extraordinary this year, other than parent these two wonderful children. Rob is still the Culinary Manager at the Olive Garden and Andrea returned back to her work as a Paralegal after a short (12 week) maternity leave. We both feel incredibly blessed to be the parents of Ryan and Rachel!

So, we hope to see each and everyone of you in 2007, but if we don’t we hope your year is filled with joy and happiness!

Maybe she can just drool her autograph

Rachel is going to be famous!!! Okay, not famous, but she is going to appear in our local paper next Friday!!!
They are always looking for local pictures to put in their on-line edition and I sent this one:

because it's funny! They liked it and are going to put it in the print edition! YAY!

More Rachelisms
Rachel will be 6 months old on Sunday!!! How is that possible? SERIOUSLY????
She got weighed yesterday during her Synagis vaccine and was 14 pounds 6 ounces! Amazing to me seeing as how she was less than 5 pounds when she came home from the hospital! She is enjoying her new bumbo seat (and early Christmas present) and actually got angry at Ryan this morning for taking her toy! Good for her! She is doing very well (we think) and I can't wait to see what the pediatrician and the neoatalogist have to say on January 3rd when she has her well baby/NICU follow up appointment!
It amazes me that she went from this:

to this in 6 months!!!

She is truly a gift to us!

Ryan, the man
Oh lordy! 2 years old is fun, right? RIGHT?!?!?!? Okay so 75% of the time Ryan is great! A true joy and a little smarty pants. The other 25% you ask? HA! He is a non-sleeping, food throwing, disagreeable little punk! So he's 2 okay?
He cracks us up pretty much every day! Just yesterday he was playing with my MIL's little nativity set and dropped Baby Jesus and broke him! I promtply sent him to time out explaining that he broke Nana's Baby Jesus and he had to say he was sorry which he did. Then this morning he burst into the bathroom while I was getting ready for work and promptly exclaimed "I'm Baby Jesus!!!" Rob's response from the other room was "good. Baby Jesus can make his own breakfast!!" So funny :)
Ryan is LOVING Christmas and digging Santa provided he is bringing an Elmo guitar (he is) and paint (check). Those and cereal are all he has asked SAnta for this year!
Anyway, I'll post more after the holidays! So enjoy!!!

My absence and some pictures

I just wanted to post quickly about where the heck I've been for the last month. I am here. We are all fine - better than fine - GREAT! I just didn't post for a while because someone from work was fired and word on the street was that it was for blogging at work. Of course, I never talk about work on here so I guess I am okay but I thought it wise to play it cool for a while.
Anyway...
PICTURES!!!


An attempt at a family photo on Thanksgiving. Ys, my husband ALWAYS looks like he has no idea who the rest of us are in pictues!

2 kids on Santa's lap and no one is crying??? A Christmas miracle!

I am STILL trying for the perfect Christmas card pictures. I like this one but my kids are way cuter than this!

Rachel really likes to sit. Sadly, she can't do it alone. Santa is bringing her a bumbo seat!

So she hates the hat. I LIKE and I'm the mommy!!!

Meet my children - day & night

It's 10pm in our house and time for one last check on the kiddos before bed (and after LOST, but don't get me started on how boring I now find that show to be!). This is what I find:
Ryan - jumps to a sitting position the minute I open his door. Flings himself back down very dramtically and kicks all the covers to the floor. His hair is a mess, his jammies are all askew and there are 44 billion toys and books in his bed (I guess he was waiting for me to come read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" - I feel bad I didn't, BUT we had already read 3 books!!)!
Rachel: out cold. On her back. Legs crossed at her ankles, arms up by her head. SNORING away.....
Jump ahead to 6:00 am.
Ryan is up and begging for cerealmilk and JoJo
I had to wake Rachel up to feed her an hour later. She went to bed at 8:00 and stayed there - asleep - until 7:00
So, I guess one good sleeper is better than none, huh?
It just kills me that people always assume (and rightfully so) that our infant is the cause of our sleepless nights!

Ryanisms

Okay, there is so much to say about Ryan I have no idea where to begin...
How about the top 5 Ryanisms of the past few months:
1. Just this morning Ryan was "helping" me dress Rachel (becacuse I apparently have no idea that her socks go on her feet!) and he pointed out "Mommy, 'achel has buttons!" He was in fact referring to her little nipples. He says he doesn't have them but I think he may be wrong!

2. Ryan can tell a joke! Well not really but he was knocking on the table one night and saying "knock knock"
Me: "who's there"
R: "applejuice"
Me: "apple juice who?"
R: "I don't know"
Of course we laughed and now that is his joke!

3. Pirates, how Ryan loves pirates! I taught him that they say "argh, me matey" and he now calls them "mateys". He got the FP little people pirate ship for his birthday and now he is always looking for his "mateys". He needs to have at least 1 in bed with him :)

4. Somewhere along the way he developed an obsession with Sponge Bob (who I, personally, despise). He seems to know him well enough to call him "Bob". After story time one lovely day while I was playign SAHM (also known as my maternity leave), Ryan was sporting a Sponge Bob sticker while we were at B.J.'s. The lovely old cashier aske dhim if it was Sponge Bob on his arm and he looked at her like she had sprouted a third eye and said "no, it's BOB!!!" Excuse me!
Along those lines he corrected my co-worker on Halloween when he told him he was a very nice looking dragon. Ryan insisted he was a "sinosaur". He really was a dragon!

5. just some funny words...
octopus - "ockeypuck"
Turkey - 'turty, dobble dobble, dobble"
pillow - "peeyow"
Rachel - "achel" OR Baby Duhl (girl)

he also sings and dances - his favorite songs to get his groove on to are the Mickey Mouse club( the old one), JoJo's Circus theme, and "my humps" - so well rounded!

CONGRATS!

To Rachel's Aunt Kara - she just got herself a brand spankin' new niece!
Ella Sophia was born yesterday afternoon and is 6 pounds 4 (or 14 I couldn't hear very well) ounces and 19 inches. Everyone is doing well!

The Run Around (also known as how to waste half your life trying to get a question answered from an insurance company)

So, Rachel is going to be receiving Synagis once a month.
About a month ago I got the precert letter from the insurance company - YAY!
A week before her 4 month well baby visit I called the pediatricians office to let them know so they could be ready for it. Nope! Turns out it needs to be administered by a visiting nurse at home. They should contact me - no problem. Riiiiiiight
Then the pharmacy calls last night to tell me they are having it delivered to us today! I call the peds again - they refer me to my insurance company. Thus begins the tale:
I called Anthem. I couldn't figure out who I needed to speak to so I chose pre-certification since Rachel was "pre-certified" for the vaccine. They show no record of it which is odd considering that I have received a letter from them as has the doctor AND the pharmacy that delivers the vaccine (which is being delivered today). The first person I spoke to put me on hold and the next thing I knew I was on the line with the pharmacy who knows nothing about administering it.
Now they are saying that our doctor needs to administer it (which we were told they do not administer it in office at in the Rochester area - either at home or in the pulmonology department of Strong). I was put through to Customer Service to get a phone number for IRIS (or is it Iris' phone number?), they give me the number but guess what? Disconnected number!!!
I call the insurance company back and get the right number only to find out that you need to know the exact person you are calling or else it disconnects you! GREAT!
I call the pediatrician one more time who gives me the visiting nurse number. Okay, but they can't find Rachel in their records. Oh that is because they have her as Baby Girl nolastname! Once we get her name thing squared away they tell me they need a Synagis form from the doctor. Another call to the doctor who has no idea what they are talking about! Call the nursing service back, and the women has the nerve to be annoyed with me about but faxes the form to the doctor! UGH! WHY??? Why all this hassle for someone to stab my poor baby girl in the meaty little thigh????