Loving life out here in Phx. Jacob and I got President's day off from school/work last week and it was oh so lovely to have an extra stress-free day to giggle, play, and bond with the sweet boys.

Our shiny, lotioned-up boy is getting gigantic, as you can see. He's really grinning a bunch now despite it being somewhat elusive to the cameras.

Chunky thighs! Though we'll see if they reach baby-Jacob level.

Thomas sometimes sleep in his crib. It's rare. He still mostly screams when sleeping in a fully flat position; we continue to believe he may have further digestive ailments (reflux), but we'll see. The bouncer continues to serve him and us well....

This is peekaboo with Daddy. In live action, it seemed like Thomas smiled bigger and more often, but it's still cute.

And this, well....it's pure Jacob. Enjoy.

The Pughtette

So, us as a family of only 4 has officially begun. Yes, Thomas is 2 months old now...but Ma was here the whole time helping us along and watching Thomas while I was away at work! Let me tell you, there is nothing more calming than having your mom watch your child if you and the other parent has to be away. We'll never be able to fully thank ma for that kindness, but we'll keep trying.

Anyway, Pa drove across the country to pick-up Ma...and see Jacob and Thomas. (I know dad, the way too early pics don't make for the best photo...but I never uploaded mom's pics where there were some precious ones!)

Thanks for coming to see us and we miss you already!!!

Speaking of the chunky monkey...

He had his 2 month check-up today: he weighed in at 12# 12 oz; he exactly doubled his birth weight at 2 months old (guidelines aim for doubling by 4 months old....yeahhhh). And he's 23" long; 50%ile. At the last appt and this one they asked if someone tall was in the family because he's so "long" according to them despite starting so short; what a reversal from our munchkin JDP topping out at the 25%ile ht/age.

He does indeed have a dairy sensitivity ( I tried ice cream last weekend; it was a BAD choice and led to 3 days of pain and weird tummy for the boy). And he does have some intense eczema on his face and body accompanied by a continuing case of mild cradle cap. Overall, the Dr gave me the face of "yeah, he's gonna be sensitive to a lot" face when he looked at Thomas, heard the symptoms, and heard the familial history. So, though no more italian breadstick w/ olive oil massages, he is likely gonna have some rosy cheeks and lotion-y looking pictures for quite awhile.

In other 'news', Jacob appears to have channeled his more modern 'artist' look. Early morning painting on the patio in pj's w some shades on...he's too cool.

As a souvenir, Jacob painted ma a landscape that included a decent stick figure that Jacob described as a 12 pound boy. I have NO ide where that came from...

To ease the Ma-less night and celebrate Valentine's day, we all got into PJ's then into our bed w/ popcorn and a little show. Jacob loved getting ready for bed with daddy while they were matching with white t-shirts for bed!

This morning on the way to school, Jacob had some completely random yet important news for me:

J: "Mommy, damnit is a bad word and you should not say it."

Me: "That's true, it is a bad word. Where did you hear that word?"

J: "Well, daddy said it as Didi and Yaya's house. But it's bad and he should not have said it."

Me: slight chuckling from the front seat. Really, I don't know if daniel said that yesterday or 6 months ago; either way, our little tattle-tale just outed Daniel for a slip of the tongue (and I'm to thank for his knowledge of 'holy crap'. Yeah....such proud moments.)

I am thrilled that Jacob is understanding acceptable social behaviors and rules enough to articulate what is appropriate vs not.

I see 3 on the horizon and it looks to be.....interesting. We have lying to learn about/defeat, honesty to address, respect to further elaborate. Certainly more stories to come!

A special Happy Birthday

Uncle Josh, this is for you.

glorious weekends.

What a hectic and fun (mostly) past 2 weeks!

First, we welcomed our healthy God-daughter, Daniella Perez into the family on the 26th (for those curious about the connections, this is the youngest sister to Parker and Sofia, daughter of Tally-daniel's oldest sister- and Trent).
Then Jacob's best friend Eric (you may know him from the laughter during Jacob's "hey mine" video way back when) and his fiancee Megan came for a visit! Lots of video and action but not a ton of pictures. They gifted Jacob Where the Wild Things Are, and Jacob can be seen as below, frequently reading and rereading it!

Though, if not reading in the warm sunshine, he could also be found in a box coloring. Thanks Grayson; boxes will never be anything but an empty canvas for this guy <3

Last week, the church where Daniel is interning had a gift-card shower for Thomas; how generous and cool is that?! We learned that tere are so many people with unique talents in the congregation; Thomas and Jacob have many quilts, soaps, and cross-stitches, etc. Last week, Jacob received something totally unique: mouse slippers!


Aren't they precious? I can't say they make Jacob walk/run as quiet as a mouse, but they do make him grin.

Speaking of grinning, Thomas is beginning to really intentionally do just that. We are LOVING it.

He's getting so big. He's much longer than Jacob was at this point (partly because Jacob had stubby legs) and continues to outweigh him....which is an incredible feat. We just can't get enough of him!!

Mr Personality at 6 weeks

We survived (okay, I survived, everyone else flourished and did wonderfully) my return to work last week- here we are a the end of 2 week now. Next Monday marks my return to full-time.... it's all going so fast!

Thomas is loosing his newbornish qualities, though he still grunts and makes allll the newborn noises. Yesterday brought intentional smiles and occassional chuckles and he is making fantastic eye contact! While he still detests most diaper changes (though he doesn't always cry so hard he stops breathing), he has learned to love warm baths, especially with his brother.

Though we aren't sure, there is thought that Thomas has a dairy sensitivity- even through my milk. Until this past week, he's had pretty crazy tummy troubles in additiona to some serious skin issues going on. It's been dairy-free for me for about 2 weeks now and his tummy has been better since Monday. His skin, well...it started as 'usual' baby acne, but in the past 3 weeks it's become a pattern of rashy, dry, irritated skin that flakes off like post-intense-sunburn. I have no idea what to do for him....my mom has taken to calling him her "little italian bread stick" as we have been slathering him in olive oil for nearly a week now.

Any ideas or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Good thing is his skin doesn't seem to bug him too much. And please, take a look at that giant baby and compare it to the newborn shots....in just a few weeks time, he exploded!

And finally, a little snippet of Thomas and his newborn noises, some eye contact, and the beginnings of a smile. And some Jaciob laughter in there, too!

Mooooo

I returned to work today; I'll work halfdays now through next week and then return to full days

in February. And with the return to work comes a close relationship with a breastpump...hence the title of the post. But, if you know me at all, you know i'll do just about anything to provide the best possible nourishment for my baby...even if I occassionally giggle as I consider the bovine similarities (and Jacob giggles at the idea of Thomas taking a bottle instead of nursing!).

But we're so excited to a) have a newborn who has a fantastic appetite and is willing to learn to eat from a bottle, b) begin returning to our 'normal' schedules at a slow pace, and c) have Ma here to help ease us all gently into the chaotic routine!

In other news, Thomas turned 5 weeks old yesterday. At his 1 month check-up last week, he weighed in at 10 POUNDS and measured 21.75 inches!! That is a 3.5 lb gain and 3 1/4 inch growth in 4 weeks. Unbelievable. He does eat every 2 1/2hrs...including at night...so, we're happy it's going somewhere other than diapers!

Crazy to think that this guy, smaller than Jacob in the beginning, is larger than Jacob was at his age (9 1/2lbs and ) and is actually in the 50%ile for both wt and length.

Speaking of Jacob, this sweet big brother continues to entertain and surprise us with sensitive insights. These past few weeks have been filled with puzzles, coloring, and painting; as seen below, orange is his preferred color though red and yellow suffice in a bind.

Bringing in 2011

With Grayson and Ma here to accompany us, we've taken a couple of trips to the Superstition mountains that surround us out here in Mesa, AZ. Jacob seems to love hiking and has been really careful about avoiding the cacti (phew); though this past time, he did seem to prefer rock climbing instead by bending down and using his hands to "climb" the pebbles along the way.

This Saguaro cactus was SO big, it didn't even fully fit into the frame! I heard somewhere that to even begin growing 'arms' the cactus has to be at least 75 years old...just imagine the age of this one.

And now, how about some Thomas pictures?
This little guy is nursing well, thus his skin wrinkles are becoming rolls- it's just too cute!

So far, he is sleeping much of the day (very opposite from his brother whom we had to lull to sleep even as a newborn). He has about 1.5-2 hours intervals of wakefulness; sometimes due to gas pains accompanied with crying, nursing, and burping; other times he is a calm and alert observer.

He's still rather young, but he appears to be more sensitive to his surroundings than his brother was. Thomas hates diaper changes and being naked but loves tummy time and snuggling- and even occassionally enjoys being swaddled....opposite Jacob much?

Jacob continues to be an angel with his brother, giving him kisses, hugs, pats, and generally doting on him whenever possible. He loves to discuss what Thomas is able to do or not do, explain what Thomas needs, or talk about how he is a big boy and Thomas is a baby. -And Thomas seems to quiet down and search for Jacob when he hears his voice/laugh/cry...it's quite precious.