2 Month Comparison

Drew 10 Lbs 6 OZ

21 3/4 Inches

Gabe 11 Lbs 6 Oz

21 3/4 Inches

One of Those Days

It has been one of those days! It began by getting everyone up and out the door for Gabe's 10:00 am, 2 month checkup. Once in the office I was told the appointment was at 1:00 pm; I arrived home and sure enough I had written 1:00pm on my calendar. It is our dental appointments next week that are at 10:00 am. Oops!

Then, I tried to get Drew to play quietly in his room while I worked in the office. While I was worrying about getting advance reports out, consolidated Aging report submitted, and issuing stop payments on checks I hear a crash in Drew's room. I didn't even want to look, but I knew it was the responsible thing to do. So, I opened the door and to my horror Drew had knocked over his reading lamp and glass was behind the rocking chair. I calmly called John on the phone for a pep talk. While I was ranting to him about needing to get my work done, Drew walks in and says "Mommy, when you done working, play play dough with me?" John, hearing the desperation in my voice said he would come home from work early and clean up the mess. He arrived just in time to watch Drew while I took Gabe for his 1:00 checkup. While at the doctor a windstorm blew out the power! The rest of the day went smoothly, John took Drew out for the afternoon and Gabe slept! I was finally able to get my work done! Oh, one last little thing, tonight after dinner I asked Drew to get me a tissue, he walked in the kitchen with a long, long roll of toilet paper ... still attached in the bathroom!

It was a perfectly crazy day!

(After the Toilet Paper Incident)

Gabe's stats were: 11.6 pounds (50-75%), 21 3/4 inches long (10-25%), Head circumference 38 1/4 (10-25%).

Gabe has also slept through the night the past two nights! Last night he slept from 10:00pm to 5:45am!

Drew and I did manage a bike ride today, with Kitty, we were able to ride all the way to the pond and back on our bikes. Drew peddled the whole way and of course Kitty had to go swimming in the pond even though it is winter. Kitty loves to run with the bike, we have been trying to get her out with the bike once a day. She loves it!

John goes in tomorrow for injections into his neck, he is very excited to be rid of his neck pain!

If you don't have a Bible reading plan this year, join us for the Interactive Bible reading blog. This week was my week to write, it was very stressful trying to write something I knew others would read! John was so sweet, he helped me the day before it was due to finalize some of my thoughts. Oh, my book club is now over which is very sad. I enjoyed getting out and having coffee with friends every other Thursday. I think my best friend Nicole and I will be meeting, twice a month for a ladies night out!

He Slept!

Hooray! Last night Gabe slept through the night! I put him to bed at 8:00pm, woke him at 11:00 for a feeding and then put him back to sleep in his swing. He slept from 11:30 - 7:45 am! I can't believe it. Gabe is 10.5 weeks old, he is sleeping more these days. I discovered that I can't let him get too tired, at the most he can be up 2 hours in between naps. If I don't let him get exhausted he tends to sleep more soundly and wakes less often. I hate to say this since I might jinks it, but we may have a schedule in place! A morning 3 hour nap, afternoon 3 hour nap, a hour or two in the late afternoon and then off to bed around 8-9 pm!

Gabe hasn't been spitting up too much this week, he has been eating a lot though! He also loves mommy time (face time) which has been able to pull out a few smiles. He is still on Pedialite and is more consistent with his BM's, he still only has a BM every three days.

Drew's birthday is today! We celebrated with family and friends over the weekend. Our friends Nicole and Zac made him the cutest Rocket cake! Oh, one funny thing, Drew's new name for John is "Hun!" I call john Hunny a lot so Drew things he can call him that too!

Big Day For Gabe

Today at 9 week Gabe started to smile and coo at us... finally! He also moved from newborn diapers to size 1! Gabe loves to hold his head up and look around at everything. Tonight Drew entertained his brother for 30 minutes, singing, dancing and showing him tools; Gabe loved watching his big bro in action. Spoiled would be the word to describe Gabe, he has had so many visitors and family to entertain him that he doesn't know what to do with himself. Most nights he fusses from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm - tonight was no different. Around 10:00 I tired out and put him in his swing to cry himself to sleep. Last night Gabe went to sleep on his own without any crying . Drew's tummy problems are subsiding, he is still on the pedialite, and his new routine is to only have bowl movements every three days, two days off, then 4-5 dirty diapers in one day. We don't go back to the Dr. until 1/29, which is well past his 8 week checkup, the nurse who made the appointment must have not read the right birth date.

Compare

Gabe at 9 weeks Drew at 10 weeks

Drew at 10 weeks Gabe at 9 weeks

Drew's Gift

More pictures have been posted on the pictures site!




John made Drew a sandbox for his 3rd Birthday. Here are some of the pictures!

Obediance

A question to ponder from the "Interactive Bible Reading"

Q1) What is an area in your life where God is calling you to be obedient?

My Response:

I am so in awe about how God reiterates his messages to me over and over again when he wants to grab my attention. The area God has really been revealing over and over through sermons, bible readings, and our Home Bible Study group, is the idea of making my life a constant prayer – not just a few 5 minutes here and a prayer or two at meals. My entire being longs to live each day in prayer or communion with my Father.

Romans 12:12 says "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Am I wholeheartedly pursuing making my daily life a prayer to God? Our family is trying, our goals in 2008 are to grow closer as a family spiritually and grow closer to the Lord individually, this goal can only be accomplished with constant and fervent prayer; specifically the constant fervent prayers of a mother and wife - me. So 2008 has begun on my knees in prayer, asking "Lord what does a day of constant prayer look like?" How can I keep my mind focused on You?

“Please give my mind endurance to run the race each day, keep distraction (TV, whining children, daily mundane activities) far away and allow me rest in You. Today, I choose to keep my eyes fixed on you and Your word, listening for Your “still small voice” May tomorrow I chose this same awe-inspiring path.”

My Love

To my One and Only,

Five years ago today we said "I do," can you believe how short the years have come and gone? 1 year ago we were cruising the Caribbean immersed in each others arms, contemplating adding another arrow to our quiver. Here we are, my love, half a decade of experiences and memories, two beautiful children who carry our name, and the love... the love has only grown!

You are my only, my everything, my perfecter

My strong arm that hold me afloat when life tries to drag me under,

the one whose eyes of determination I look into each night,

You are the one I can't live without, the one I share my dreams with and share my heart,

Your face of joy lightens my heart and brings me joy,

Your optimism pulls me along this path we share together, encourages me,

Your the one who believes I can do anything and loves me no matter the outcome.

My love, when I think about what really matters in life I thank the Lord for sending you to me that March day. Your smile, your selflessness, your laugh, your willingness to admit when wrong, your ability to always make life fun - captured my thoughts those first few days we dated - it is those same qualities that supported us through the trials that life sent our way.

I remember how the nurses in the hospital would always smile more once you had arrived to visit me those 5 long weeks, I remember you giving up your dream job so you could change my bed pan and help the long hours pass - - I knew I couldn't make it through that pregnancy without you. I remember you telling me that our son would arrive perfectly on time and would be perfect in God's eyes, I remember the way you tried to force the oxygen mask onto my face during labor! I remember the nights you held me while I cried, I remember the fear of trying to have another child, I remember the many shots you gave me and how perfect and exact you wanted the needle to be!

So, as our 6th year of marriage begins I am convicted, what really matters in life are the little things I daily take for granted - life is short and I worry and fret about things that don't matter. So here is my list of what I would miss the most if you were not here:

1. Watching you chase Drew around the house with the Nerf gun while he giggles and Kitty barks... loudly
2. The smell of our bed that has always reminds me that you are coming to bed soon = especially when you work the night shift.
3. Always having someone who will listen to me and encourage me
4. Your smile when you come home from work, I love it that you think about us all day and love coming home, even if Gabe is fussy and cries in the night!
5. Holding your hand at church while we sing together
6. Your strong shoulders and arms that always know when I need a hug
7. Your ability to fix anything and Drew's constant chanting "Its broken mommy, Daddy fix it!"
8. Your constant calm energy that brings peace to our home
9. Lovemaking!
10. Sleep... I would miss how selfless you are, getting up with the kids so I can sleep in (just like this Saturday morning, thanks for letting me sleep in till 11:00 am!) My list could go on and on my love!

My Love For You John is Beyond All Measure

Compare

Can you tell which is which? The one on the left is Gabe at 8 week of age, the one on the right is Drew at 16 week! Gabe has already surpassed Drew, Gabe weighs in at 10 pounds this week! Gabe has tons of fat rolls and loves to eat. Even though Gabe does have reflux, he doesn't spit up nearly as much as Drew did. Gabe is really starting to be alert, picking his head up and following mommy with his eyes. Gabe also rolled over from his tummy to back at 6 weeks.

Interactive Bible Reading

Do you have a Bible reading plan for 2008? If not click on the link to the right titled "Interactive Bible Reading," My church, in 2007, finished diving into the New Testament. For 2008 we are reading most of the Old Testament - I will be contributing one week a month - providing insightful questions about the text as well as a short summary of the chapter. It should be a great 2008 - glued to God's Word!

8 Weeks Old Already!

Gabe is almost 8 weeks old! He has grown so chubby and is almost 9 pounds (by our scale). Gabe has good days and then a bad one here or there. Today happens to be a great happy day for him, yesterday, not so much. On Gabe's fussy days he has a hard time sleeping because of his tummy problems, so in the evening he is especially fussy from lack of sleep. Gabe still eats every 3 hours during the day and every 4-6 hours at night. Last night Gabe slept from 12:00 pm until 6:00 am - it was so nice! Gabe is starting to focus on lights and other objects, he also loves his mommy and daddy's faces.

Drew has been riding his new bike around the block and enjoying our clear cold days. Drew is anxious for his "papa tractor" to arrive tonight and even took a nap so he could go with Daddy tonight to the airport. Drew and I have been working on his alphabet using flash cards and M&M's. We are specifically working on his speech and enunciation's. Drew's preschool is back in session this Monday and Drew can't wait to see his teachers. Recently Drew has gotten very good at picking up his toys, yesterday I asked him to pick up his room and he did it in 10 minutes, normally he gets distracted and it can take up to an hour! Drew received a lot of new books for Christmas so reading time has been filled with new material, which mommy loves! I've been randomly clearing out some of our clutter- going through all the toy boxes and books shelves, sorting and organizing all the toys and the linen closet. I am also cleaning out the office files for the new year!

Well, enjoy these new pictures, I also posted a video of Drew on the video page.





Melissa