This Week

This week has been a whirlwind of activity. Tuesday was a fairly normal day. While Hampton took his morning nap, Everett enjoyed some water play outside. I love how he call his sprinkler ball "sprinkles." Later on he handed me the camera and asked me to take a picture of him. He's pretty darn handsome if I do say so myself.

Wednesday started off as normal. I was having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, which I have had every now and then for over a month now. We went to Barnes and Noble to get a muffin from the cafe (it was gone before I could snap a picture) and play with the train set. I love the little noises Hampton makes when he pushes the train. Too cute. After Barnes and Noble we went to our local library's story time (yes I took them back to the library!). It was at the library my contractions got stronger and I had some other symptoms that could cause definite alarm. I quickly left with the babies and called my OB nurse who said I needed to come in. Panic set it, but I am so grateful for friends who took over the care of the boys so Eric and I could go to the office together. The whole drive there we were pretty upset and scared. I honestly didn't know what was going on, but of course I thought the worst. Thankfully after getting an exam and ultrasound, everything checked out normal. I was not dilating and she didn't know why I had the symptoms, but in her words "life is good and we're fine." I was told to take it easy and so far everything has resolved. We are so grateful for the Lord comforting us during such an extremely stressful time and are so blessed Eleanor is alright.

Moving on, after such a stressful and hectic day Wednesday, Thursday morning the boys and I needed some sweets. So we stopped by our local bakery for a brownie! We also went to my favorite upscale children's consignment and picked out some things for Eleanor.

Friday I worked, but we had a fun family day planned for Saturday. We started off our day today at Dunkin Donuts for a morning treat.

We then went to Target to get Everett some new pajamas and then headed home. While Hampton took his morning nap, Eric rested and Everett and I watched Curious George and did art work. Later this morning we went to Barnes and Noble to play with the train set......

read some books......

and story time.

I was so proud of Everett for actively participating in story time and answering the questions the story time lady asked the children.

After story time we went to Roly Poly (my new restaurant specific craving) for lunch. We ate outdoors and then had frozen yogurt for dessert.

After lunch we came home and the boys napped. I then went out searching for a maternity swimsuit, a horrifying concept-but I did find one. After nap we went to our subdivision's pool. Hampton was a little nervous about the water at first, but quickly warmed up to the idea. Today was his first time in a swimming pool.

Everett however barely put a toe in the pool. His apprehension was so surprising because for months now he has talked about how he wants to go swimming in the summer.

We'll keep working on it.

It has been a long week and today's family day was much needed. Tonight I am feeling grateful and blessed.

Day Date

Yesterday Eric's mom came for a visit and Eric and I went on a day date! It was so fun to be out just the two of us during the day. And the weather was beautiful! We first stopped by Sonic and got drinks and then went over to the Biltmore Estate.

We thought about touring the house, but when we got inside it was really busy and entailed a lot of standing and waiting.

So we decided to walk over and tour the gardens instead.

I just loved these purple flowers.

And the flower maze was so pretty.

Lately I have been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and yesterday I had a ton. We kept having to stop and let me rest. I was happy the babies weren't with us since we then were able to just take our time.

After we left the Biltmore, we went to a cafe called Roly Poly that has wrapped sandwiches, soups, and salads. We had never been there before and it was so good! We had such a nice date, but it was fun to come home to these 2 cuties.

And an "eye update" on Hampton. We went to see an ocular plastic surgeon, who based on the MRI results ruled out surgery at this point. It is just too risky. If when he is 4 or 5 he needs it, it would be more of an option at that point. So we are getting him back on the beta blocker since his eye has gotten much worse since they weaned him. He has been on a low dosage for 2 days now and we already see a noticeable difference in the size. We up the dosage tomorrow, so we are hopeful. I am happy we have some closure for now on his treatment and we'll wait to see what happens over the next few years. The surgeon told me his hemangioma is very minor and he has seen so much worse, but when it is your baby it's hard. I am content with the treatment option for now because it is the safest for our Hampy. Have I mentioned what a sweet baby he is!?!

Kind of a Pajama Day

Yesterday was long and busy. Everett had preschool and then a late doctor's appointment. On top of that, I was up all night with Everett who just couldn't sleep. So-today I decided since we had nothing on the calendar we would have a pajama day. We would stay home all day and just relax. The day started off alright.....we had pancakes for breakfast.

During Hampton's morning nap, Everett and I had some quality time together. Everett brought me my camera and asked me to take a picture of him......

We then did some sticker art work. I found a great sticker book at the garden shop and Everett enjoyed picking out different pictures to make a piece of art.

This one is cute too......

We then played with some play dough.

And with Noah's ark.....

When Hampton woke up we went to pick up a prescription (in our jammies) and then made a stop at Sonic for a vanilla Coke (for me) and some tator tots for the boys (and me!). Okay-so I am completely sleep deprived at this point (going on only 3 hours of broken up sleep), but we are doing alright.

When we got home we had some more play time in the playroom. Here is Everett practicing his letter recognition. He's doing well!

At this point, I noticed Hampton was a little more fussy than usual. He normally is really laid back and content, however today he cries when I leave his sight and wants me to hold him all the time.

It didn't stop him from cooking in the kitchen though!

Hampton didn't eat anything for lunch. All he wanted was milk. He threw everything I put on his tray. But we are still in our jammies!

My plan was to take a nap when the boys when down for theirs. I was so ready! As soon as I put them down they both fussed. Everett was on and off and Hampton screamed! He didn't quiet and after a half hour, I finally got him up. I was so disappointed not to get to rest and as soon as I got Hamp up, Everett got up. So no one napped! Hampton didn't stop crying/screaming. It was bad. I even called Eric and all 3 of us were crying. I called the doctor and we went right away. So much for jammies. We changed and went right to the office. Everett loves the doctor's office.

Well it turns out on top of teething, Hampton has full blown double ear infections. Yuck. No wonder he was so misreable. We went and picked up his antibiotic and then went home again.

After dinner I put them right to bed-at 6:30. Hampton has been crying on and off and I am praying for a restful night. Today was rough. It had highs and lows-more lows for sure. It just comes with the territory though. At least tomorrow is a new day!

Our Everett Boy

Everett turned 3 yesterday and I am still in shock. I can't believe the Lord has blessed us with 3 years already. Everett has his 3-year check-up today and he did great! I think he loves to go to the doctor because of the special attention he gets. Also, his pediatrician Dr. Chu is kind of a celebrity in Everett's eyes. He just really loves him. So here are his stats:

Everett weighs 34.5 pounds and is in the 90th percentile for height and weight.
His vision/hearing are within normal limits.
He scored within normal limits across all developmental domains. He scored highest in gross motor and personal/social and his lowest score was in fine motor. I guess we'll have to work on the scissor cutting and drawing a circle/straight line!
His physical revealed he is a healthy, growing and typical 3-year old boy.

Now for my mommy spiel......
Everett is a very energetic guy. He loves to climb, run, and throw things (sometimes when he shouldn't be) and is always on the move. He will sit down every now and then to watch a short video. We showed him a movie yesterday (Curious George) and he laughed out loud at all the slapstick humor.....something we never heard him do before. He hates the camera (if you haven't noticed) and will barely ever let us get a good picture of him. He has gotten very good at coloring and drawing and likes sidewalk chalk. We have tried teaching him to ride a tricycle, however he hasn't gotten it yet. He is potty trained except at night and for naps. He is a good eater and will eat a variety of different foods-however only when he feels like it. His favorite foods are pizza and chocolate milk. He is a good sleeper. He sleeps/rests at least 2 hours in the afternoon and 12 hours at night (7-7). He still totes "nigh nigh" around, but lately doesn't need him as much. He loves to make people laugh! We just love that he has a great sense of humor. As he approached 3, he has been pushing the limits a bit more and has required more discipline and training as his will has increased. He has entered the "imagination phase" which is really fun. He likes to pretend he is different animals or the couch is really a boat. He is getting more witty and also manipulative. For example today he told me he had to stay home and not go to preschool because his belly hurt. When I asked him what would make his belly feel better he answered, "a cupcake, or maybe chocolate milk?" He still cries or gets upset when I drop him off a preschool (he goes two mornings a week) but when I pick him up he tells me he had so much fun. Preschool has been so great for him and has really developed his social skills. He loves Hampton, perhaps a little too much sometimes. He calls him "baby" or "Hampy" and tries to get him to play with him. Everett is very stubborn and strong willed, but such a sweet and fun boy. We have loved these past 3 years with him and it just keeps getting better and better.