Friday, April 27, 2012

The other (not so) little Man in our life

I feel like recently the blog has been very JP focused between being a new baby and keeping everyone updated on his condition. But we can't forget the other special man in our life- Aiden.

Aiden is doing so well being a big brother. I'm so proud of him. He loves his brother so much that we had to nickname it smotherly love. LOL!  He's the only one who can really get Jonathan's attention and Jonathan seems so enamored by him. He takes a lot of pictures of his brother...I think that is from 3 years of having the camera in his face

Aiden is talker. He's been talking from an early age- saying "Dada" at 5 months. I remember the pediatrician sitting us down at his 9month and year appointment and said that he's ahead of the game on this whole talking thing and to never compare other children to him. Today he just goes from the time  he gets up to the time he goes to be.
Aiden is also into learning. He seems to want to absorb everything he can. He knows his ABCs, can count to 20, shapes & colors, and now days of the week. We never sat down with him to teach it, he would inquire and inquire and inquire until he got it. He soaks up everything like a sponge. It's hard for me to believe but he'll be heading to pre-school in the fall.

Aiden is also a clown. He loves to get people's attention and try to make him laugh. And he does make us laugh!

I find being a Mom of 2 is sometimes hard especially with working. Aiden has always loved attention and typically got it being an only child, now he's trying to learn how to share the spot light, which is hard. Add on to the terrible 3s and that just complicates it, but all in all he's a smart, energenic, loveable and fun boy.  We love you Aiden Edward!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Happy 2 month birthday JP!

It's hard to believe, but, this little naked cutie just turned 2 months old on Monday, April 23rd!  He's weighing in at 11lbs 4 oz and is 22 1/2 inches long. He had his appointment Tuesday and poor thing got two shots...which caused him some fussiness that day.
 

What an amazing journey it has been so far. Before he was born we were faced with so much uncertainy and then my beautiful boy arrived and it was one piece of good news after another regarding his initial prognosis. We got to spend so much time together enjoying every happy, tired, and sometimes frustrating moments of being parents to a newborn. No casts....No brace....No weekly trips to DuPont (no offense Dr. Nichols...we do look forward to having you as JP's doctor nonetheless)


Just time hanging out....learning to "talk" and starting to smile.

Taking trips to the park, the shore, the mall, Taco Monday at Victory, visiting grandparents etc.

And spending some tummy time with his older brother who loves him so much!

We continue to feel so blessed to have two wonderful boys. It's been a great journey so far being parents to two boys and I know there's so much more to come. JP has a rough road ahead, but for now enjoy his first smiles and coos.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Welcome to the Family...

Keith and I got to visit our new nephew yesterday and he's so sweet and adorable. Simply put, he's the 2nd cutest baby in the world..watch out JP he's neck and neck with you- LOL! He is such a good baby, sleeping most the time we were there and when he did cry it was this sad sounding (almost pathetic) cry, unlike JP who screeches.  The baby has these little chubby cheeks, but his body is long and lanky. We're so excited for him to be here and for June, Marc, Natalie, and Marc!

Welcome to the family Matthew Xavier!



Thursday, April 19, 2012

And baby makes 5.....

Today Keith and I became an Aunt and Uncle again. Marc and June (Keith's brother and sister in law) welcomed their 3rd child, a beautiful baby boy, which makes them a family of 5 and gives Keith's parents 5 grandkids. 

The baby was born at 9:29am, weighing in at 8 lbs and 5 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. He has no names of yet...but he's adorable and here's a picture of him!


JP and Baby G are exactly 8 weeks apart and hope will become buddies and great friends. Mommy, June and Baby are doing well. We are so excited for Marc, June, Big Sister Natalie and Big Brother Marc- Happy Birthday sweet nephew and welcome to this crazy family! 

Back to reality...but first a mini vacation

8 weeks goes by fast when your in the thick of raising a 3 yr old and taking care of a newborn. I'm heading back to reality and off to work. We got to take a mini vacation last weekend, which was perfect timing with the weather warming up! Keith had a gig Friday night in Dewey Beach, DE (about 10 mins from Rehoboth Beach) and so we decided to make a weekend out of it. It was like our last Hoorah of our time together.

We couldn't have asked or a more perfect weekend in April. The weather was amazing- sunny and warm temps. Both kids slept great in the hotel, at least one meal a day at Dogfish Head Brewery (Keith and I love their food and the beer isn't bad either- LOL) and some amazing family time.


The hotel we stayed in was so nice and was modeled after the Victorian time period (I think my mother in law would absolutely love it there and might not want to leave). It was right on the boardwalk and they had an indoor pool. We took Aiden swimming and he was absolutely amazing. Fearless this year, which could be good and bad. He has a vest he wears that is like floaties. This year he learned to keep himself afloat without capsizing- LOL. He was swimming around without holding on to us, jumping in, going under without any fears...or tears. I love it and I'm a bit nervous- LOL.

All in all it was a perfect weekend and a perfect way to end my maternity leave as sadly I go back tomorrow. I love my job, but I love my kids too and will miss being home with them each day terribly (even it was trying at times).


                                                                  Our Family of 4
                                         
                                        Daydreaming about building sand castles on the beach
                 
                                                            This kid loves the beach and ocean!
                                                           
                                                     Me and my baby boy hanging out
                                                 
                                                  My boys- they bring me such joy

                                            Fun with Daddy- Keith loves to put pants on the boys' heads!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Hoppy Easter

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter filled with many blessings and time with loved ones. We had a pretty good Easter. We're all trying to get over a cold, and by all, I mean the whole family including JP. The cold is just one that lingers.

For Easter we did an Easter Egg hunt again with Aiden and this year he was totally into it. We fill the eggs with coins and a few with dollars. He loved finding them this year and in fact decided to re hide them when he was done- LOL. He also got a lot of good loot from the bunny. Candy is hard to find for him due to his nut allergy, but the Easter Bunny struck big with chocolate covered Trader O's (think cheerios) and chocolate crisp. He also got some goodies like a Mickey Video and Book, a car (Ramon) from the movie, and a flash light (he is obsessed with them). Poor JP, got pacifiers, a few books, and some used toys (Aiden's baby toys). Don't feel sorry for him, he slept through the festivities in the morning anyway- LOL.

We spent the morning with Keith's family, celebrating at church and then followed up with a lunch out. It was so nice to hang with our niece, Natalie, and nephew, Marc Jr.,  who are getting so big. I just love watching them grow and listening to their stories. Aiden absolutely adores both of them and was so excited and happy to hang out with them. We're also anticipating the arrival of our newest nephew who comes April 19th, I can't wait! We also enjoyed time with Mom, Dad, Marc & June.

Easter night, we headed over to my Aunt's for dinner and hung out with my parents, Stacey and her boyfriend, my Aunt & Uncle, and cousin Amanda and Henry. It was quite this year as Sam, Rob and the boys spent time with Rob's family. I imagine Christmas time will be crazy with 5 boys. Here's some pics from the day, enjoy :)