Meet Dylan

Dylan Augustus was born Friday June 10th at 7:34 in the morning and weighed in at 6 lbs. 10 oz, 19.5 inches.  He has just a tiny bit of light brown hair, blonde eyelashes and eyebrows and blue/gray eyes.  We were quite fortunate that everything went according to plan without any major complications.  We stayed in the hospital until Monday and came home early that afternoon.  We were so lucky that both sets of parents were able to be in town for the long weekend, helping with Sean and getting the house ready for us.  Sean had the best time ever – I’m not sure he’d ever had so much attention!  Our parents brought him to the hospital on Sunday to meet Dylan for the first time.  Sean brought a lamb blanket for Dylan and Dylan had a very fancy red truck for Sean.  It only took about 5 minutes for Sean to lose interest in Dylan and move on to the “talking” bed (we had to page the nurse’s desk when he was there and he was fascinated that the bed talked) and his big brother bracelet one of our nurses gave him so he could have matching bands with me and John.  So far, Sean has been very welcoming to Dylan and doesn’t seem too jealous.  He’s starting to leave his toys on Dylan so he can play with them too (like his helicopters and sunglasses) and when Dylan sleeps during the day he rubs Dylan's head and hair and points out his ears, nose, chin, etc.  He’s starting to want to put his fingers up Dylan’s nose though so we’re working on what’s appropriate behavior towards your baby brother.. haha.

As for Dylan, knock on wood, but he’s really been fantastic.  He’s a really good eater (he’ll basically eat anything you put in a bottle at any temperature) and doesn’t fuss too much.  His personality is already showing through... for example, he likes to be swaddled all the time, likes pacifiers, doesn’t like outfits that don’t have long sleeves and pants, hates getting his diaper changed but hates having a dirty diaper, has a real knack for peeing all over us, the walls, his clothes and then pooping right between getting the old diaper out and the new one under him, sneezes twice in a row with a really cute sigh afterwards, sleeps with his mouth open, and loves to be held and cuddled (he’s my little snuggle bug… I never want to put him down!).  Polly has been especially protective over him which has been really funny although she’s decided she's not getting up for night feedings this time around and leaves it up to me and John.

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes, cards, flowers, and presents.  We’re lucky to have such wonderful family and friends.  Here are some pictures we’ve taken (you know we already have about 500). Hope you enjoy!

Just minutes after Dylan was born….

Sean meeting Dylan for the first time….

Leaving the hospital (it was easier for me to walk then take the wheelchair!)….

Meeting Polly for the first time & Sean showing Dylan his hospital bracelet….

Getting sleep when we can….

Our stylish boys! ha ha

Notice the mouth open…

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY JOHN!!…

The Waiting Game

To everyone who said ‘Whoa, you’re not gonna make it to the end, that baby is coming early’ -- THANKS A LOT! Dylan is out to prove you all wrong!  Even though his condo is getting smaller by the day, he seems quite content to hang out until he’s evicted Friday morning.  I’m actually surprised that he’s hung around this long, for some reason I also thought he’d be here a little earlier than this.  But one thing we’ve learned about Dylan so far is that he’s going to do things his way and on his terms.  I have absolutely no idea where this stubborn streak comes from but will blame it on his daddy ;-)

Here are some pictures of his nursery.  We changed it around a bit from how we had Sean’s nursery arranged and boy, you forget how much stuff a newborn has!  But we couldn’t be more excited to meet him and welcome into our crazy family – it’s been a long wait for this little guy.  We love him so much already.

 

 

Every morning when I go get Sean, he tells me “Baby…. Big….. Glowing" while shaking his head very seriously.  Emmi helped add the last “glowing” part because I think she started feeling bad for me every day when my toddler kept reminding me how big I was getting!  When we’re home, Sean is always asking to open my shirt and belly so he can see Dylan. It’s hard to tell how much he understands but I’m pretty sure it’s going to blow him away when we come home with a baby and mommy can actually run  around after him without waddling and being out of breath!

Prayers for our Children

This is Tina Fey’s prayer for her daughter from her new book Bossypants.  Hilarious.  And very true.  I love you mom. ((hug))

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be beautiful but not damaged, for it’s the damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the beauty.

When the crystal meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half and stick with beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from acting but not all the way to finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes and not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the drums to the fiery rhythm of her own heart with the sinewy strength of her own arms, so she need not lie with drummers.

Grant her a rough patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – and adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers and the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, for I will not have that shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a mental note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

Of course I need to add a prayer for boys since mine will most likely have a slightly different take over the coming years…..

Heavenly Father, I beseech you to watch over my only son sons, the Light of my life, the Cause of my anxiety attacks.

Make smooth his passage from Childhood into Adolescence – just smooth enough that he isn’t bullied by the Athletic ones; but not so smooth that he becomes one of the Cocky ones. If it is Your Will, may he find a sanctuary with the Nerdy-for-now-but-later-they’re-going-to-be-every-woman’s-dream-guy ones. For those are the Ones a future mother-in-law will embrace. And I am going to need that B!t©h on my side when it comes to dressing the grandchildren properly.

Be a protective presence in his life, and grant him just a smidge of Your wisdom; such that he will not squander his healthy bones and You-given handsome face on a stunt involving a scooter, a ramp, and a Flip camera. Make infrequent his trips to the Emergency Room.

When he opens his mouth to express blasphemous words to a teacher or police officer, grant him the gift of silence instead; for it is with humble Desperation that I, his mother, read all those books on ADHD and tried to teach him impulse control.

Help my son, O Lord, to find the career path that will fulfill his spirit and compensate him adequately, such that he will happily embark upon it each day, without spasms of provider-anxiety and job-hatred keeping him up at night. If it is to be a Rock Sorter and Writer of Frog Poems, as he now proclaims, so be it. I shall love the Rock Sorting Poet who has been given to me by You and shall not pressure him into Law School.

I fall to my knees and pray, Lord: let him not provide the seed of an unplanned pregnancy in high school, college, prolonged 20-something adolescence, or ill-advised first marriage to that Hussy I warned him about.

But when the time is right in Your Eyes, grant him the gift of children and a wife who, though she may hate me with the time-honored tradition that is daughter-in-law spite, will bring them to me for visits so often that I may outfit a nursery in my own home. I hereby promise, Lord, to equip that nursery with all the over-the-top toys and fun things I withheld from my son as a young mother, when I made him play with unpainted wooden blocks because I thought overstimulation would make him hyperactive. For I now know it was DNA to blame. And I shall overstimulate the bejesus, Pardon Me, out of those grandchildren.

And when you take me from this earth, Lord, be watchful over my son. Grant him decades upon decades of long life beyond mine. For he has been blessed with Sweetness and Goodness. These things I see when he is sleeping. For Lord knows, I don’t see them when he’s pummeling his sister with a tennis ball in a sock.

In your Holy Name.

Amen

Big Boy Chair

Sean recently graduated from his high chair to a booster seat at the kitchen table.  I’ll admit, putting the high chair down in the basement made me a bit teary.  Just to think how fast it came and went made me long for him to stay this age forever and never get any older.  It just happens so fast.  I mentioned this to John and he said ‘Yeah, well you would want him out of diapers, right?’  Ah, always so logical.

The other thing Sean has recently discovered is ketchup.  For some reason I forgot how absolutely fantastic ketchup is for kids and how it makes anything and everything taste better (chicken fingers, meatballs, pasta, strawberries…. ha ha).  The way he ‘applies’ the ketchup to his food is funny.  He dips one finger in the ketchup then dabs it on one piece of food and takes a bite.  This goes on and on until, I swear, we’re either out of food or I have to cut him off because he reminds me of my goldfish Nicole growing up who died from eating all the food dumped in her bowl.

Here’s a picture of him at the table (notice his smile… he’s learning how to smile for the camera…. awwww) and a video of the ketchup application.

Happy Memorial Day!

Anyone who knows me knows that I've been anxiously awaiting this weekend for one thing and one thing only…. official POOL OPENING DAY! It’s on every calendar I own… which right now includes my work computer, client computer, home computer, iPhone, work phone and home “paper” calendar… but I digress. I’ve loved the pool ever since I can remember… back when mom would send me down for the day on my bike with a cooler of drinks and food to last the day. I guess with our kids it’ll be a little different since they can’t go to the pool unsupervised until they’re something crazy like 14! ::gasp:: Oh well, I guess mom will just have to tag along

Of course we took Sean to the pool last year but he’ll be able to enjoy it much more this year now that he’s walking. Here are a few shots we got of opening day but one I didn’t get was Sean going down the water slide with his daddy. He was unsure at first but afterwards was smiling from ear to ear. Even the life guards were smiling that he got such a kick out of it!

On Sunday, we put the sprinkler out back for the first time (of course after I ran poop patrol with the pooper scooper… another thing I swore my parents made me do that I would never do once I was an adult… but again, I digress) and it was a lot of fun. Our neighbors probably didn’t need to see me running around in a bathing suit but we had fun nonetheless.

Afterwards, our friends Jen, Darren and baby Grant came over for dinner. We brought up Sean’s walker from the basement (Sean was shocked that we had toys down there that he’s “never” seen) and Grant took really well to it. Sean loved the idea of pushing Grant around in the “car”… visions of I’m sure what’s to come very soon

Bugging Out

We went to a park in South Carolina on Sunday to have a little picnic since the weather was so nice. Right when I got out of the car I noticed this bug flying straight towards my head… I ducked and it hit the car with a thud. It was a cicada, and it wasn’t the only one. There must have been THOUSANDS of them flying all over the place. It was so loud that you could barley hear yourself talk. But being the outdoorsy people we are, we ventured on. We found a nice bench and pulled out our sandwiches and next thing you know, there are cicadas landing all over John. I can only say that laughing that hard being as pregnant as I am is not safe, but boy it was funny. For some reason Sean and I weren’t as attractive to them as John was – they were landing on him left and right. Needless to say, we quickly finished our lunch and moved closer to the water where there were lots of ducks for Sean to feed!

Seriously, if this guy landed on you wouldn’t you scream like a girl?! I’m not saying John did that, I’m just saying…..

June 10th Is a Good Day to Have a Baby :)

Well it’s official - we’re scheduled to welcome Dylan Augustus into the world on June 10th! We can start taking bets now whether he’ll wait that long or not though, haha.  I’m definitely carrying him lower than I did with Sean and having more Braxton Hicks contractions too.  I know it doesn’t do much good to compare the two since every pregnancy is different, but it’s still fun to see the pictures side by side, don’t you think?!

Busy Mother’s Day Weekend

We had a very eventful Mother’s Day weekend - Pop Pop, GG, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Jacobs came to visit!  We rode the tractor in the woods, cut down trees, put up umbrellas and benches, took the boat out, made great meals, buckled Sean in his cart to ride the bike with his Dad, took walks, got most of Dylan’s room setup…. the list goes on and on! I’m so grateful that everyone could come visit and even more grateful for the tremendous help everyone gave us in getting ready for Dylan’s arrival. 

What Are We Gonna Do….

With that hair??

We Officially Have a Toddler

And our walls have officially been christened with crayons. Note how his chair made a perfect step stool to get his masterpiece just the right height on the wall.  In it’s glory, for all to see.

Doesn’t he look like he was in the kind of mood to do something like that today??

Happy cleaning!