October Happenings

This October has been a very busy month for us!

Killian is loving school and is doing well. She was chosen to bring home the Show n' Tell Bag. She thought long and hard about what to bring. Finally, she decided to bring her Gagoo's Halloween Ghost that sings and dances. I am certain that my mom was happy to have the toy out of the house for a few days. Killian practiced all weekend what she would say to her class. She was adorable! The best part of her practice was Killian telling what song the ghost sings. Any guesses???
The answer is "Go Busters!" It took a few corrections before she would actually say Ghost Busters, but either way its a classic.

For Halloween I had big plans to make the whole family have a similar theme. However, with all the craziness and long hours at work I was unable to finish. My idea was to have a Snow White family. Killian would be Snow White, I would be the Evil Queen (mwhahahah), Sean would be Prince Charming (that would take a lot of bribing to get him to wear a costume) and Jameson would be Dopey! The kids were the only ones who got to dress up. I found a cute dress online at a great price, so I cheated and bought hers. Jameson's I did make, with no pattern out of my brain! Who knew I could actually do that!

Snow White and her Dopey

Finally a Princess Smile

Killian happy with all her candy she got!

This is how Jameson spent his 1st Halloween.
Bundled in blankets enjoying a bottle.

4 Month Check Up

Jameson at 4 months

Jameson had his 4 month wellness exam this week. He is doing very well with all his milestones and growth. He is 16 pounds 6 ounces, 24.5 inches long and his head is 45 cm which was slightly off the chart. His reflux is gone and we have switched to soy formula. I was having a really hard time getting all the milk proteins out of my diet completely and when we experimented with trying formula he did really well. Just as we take care of one thing another one pops up. Jameson seems to be getting eczema. So now he has special moisturizing soap, lotion and has to use cortizone ointment on the spots. People always told me girls were high maintenance but Jameson far surpasses Killian.

Jameson and Mommy

 Jameson has learned to blow raspberries, spit and hang his tongue out of his mouth to get as much slobber as possible all over himself and anyone who wants to come near him. He is still very fond of trying to get his entire hand in his mouth. He now MUST have at least one finger in his mouth while he eats his bottles. This is a very annoying habit because I swear 1/3 of the bottle ends up down his shirt.

Killian and Jameson

He is still very much so a happy guy. He will go absolutely crazy when he is hungry. But otherwise he is calm and relaxed. Jameson loves to play with the colorful link toys. Killian will make him a long chain of them and he will swing them all around. This leads to everyone getting smacked in the face with them. He also really loves his crinkle book. He will sit and play with it for hours. Killian ha learned to leave his toys alone when he is playing with them unless she wants to hear him scream at her. 

I am currently trying to plan the Halloween costumes for the family. Killian has a new idea everyday, Some of my favorite ideas are Snow White for Killian and Dopey for Jameson. Pippi Longstocking for myself and Jameson can be her monkey Mr. Nilsson. Sean can be The Man in the Yellow Hat and Jameson can be Curious George. Jameson can be Gru and we can all be Minions from Despicable Me. My sister keeps telling me that Jameson should be Calilou from a PBS show here. If you are unfamiliar with the character here is a picture.

I think it has to do with the big, bald head.

But I guess you will just have to wait a few weeks for a Halloween post to see what we end up with!

Say Cheese!

Recently, Sean and I figured it was time to get some more family photos does since we had a new addition to our family. This only took us about 4 months to do. LOL Can you tell how much I love getting my picture taken??? Our very good friend and excellent photographer, Teresa, agreed to my demand to take our pictures. We love The Frey Family! After waiting until the absolute last possible minutes to plan our outfits (yes, I made us all have a back up outfit due to Jameson's excessive drooling and random spit ups) we headed out to the park to meet the Freys.

The day was a sunny, warm gorgeous Saturday. Now, keep in mind this is October in Illinois! I was planning for a cold-ish day. I don't think we could have gotten any better weather. I think Sean agreed since he told me a hundred times that this is what California is like in winter. The kids were both awesome and we got through the poses in no time and then met Tony and the boys at the park. Killian was playing and wanted nothing more to do with getting her picture taken. She told Teresa to stop taking her picture and go take some of Jameson. She then hid in the covered slide just to be safe. Teresa even tried to sneak pictures from a far, but Killian busted her every time. What a stinker! 

Sean and I love the pictures and can not wait to get some hung up. So enjoy!

I love Jameson's face in this picture. He was totally watching the cars .

I think this might be one of my favorite pictures!
This is illustrates Killian's personality perfectly.

Sean and I love his "elf ear" on the left.

Oh my, he has his mommy's scowl!

It was about 30 seconds after this shot that Killian hid in the slide to avoid Teresa and her camera.

Killian and her Frey Guys!

Jameson telling you all about his bath!

Jameson has really started cooing, laughing and smiling these last couple weeks. He also as you can tell has found his fingers and entire hand. He has had several self induced spit ups because he gagged himself. But, that does not stop him and he is back doing it two seconds later.
Killian likes to find new ways to make him smile. This week it has been her jumping around that gets him smiling. He also loves to watch hair shake. She is an excellent shaker of hair, until she makes herself dizzy and falls. Luckily, falling makes Jameson smile too.

Pre-School

This week is the beginning of Killian's academic life. She is starting preschool at a church here in the Quad Cities. She is very excited to go meet new friends and learn lots of things.

This was the best picture I could get. She was way too excited to stand still for a picture.

Sean and I have been going over all the things she should and should not be doing at school. Here are some samples:
DO listen to your teachers!
DO be nice to the other kids!
DO use the bathroom and wash your hands!
DO say please and thank you!
DO share!

DO NOT hit!
DO NOT kick!
DO NOT push!
DO NOT pinch!
DO NOT yell at people!
DO NOT be bossy!
DO NOT steal toys!
DO NOT talk when the teacher is talking!
DO NOT lift your skirt or dress up!
DO NOT lift your shirt up!
DO NOT fart, if you have to go to the bathroom!
DO NOT call the other kids names!
DO NOT talk back to the teacher!
DO NOT tell the teacher no!
DO NOT stick your tongue out!
DO NOT spit on people!
DO NOT lie!
DO NOT leave the room without an adult!
DO NOT speak Kids English because no one knows what you are talking about! (Post on that soon!)

That's all I can think of at the time. Can you tell someone has been learning what her boundaries are and how to push them as far as possible???? Sean told me several times that I am more worried about school then she is, and he was probably right. You hear all the horror stories about kids at school and I don't want THAT kid to be mine.
I was able to ago into work late fully prepared for Killian to not want me to leave, but I really should have known better. We got to school did the morning routine of washing your hands and going potty. We walked to her class room, grabbed her name tag and signed up for snack days. Once inside the room Killian's eyes lit up seeing all the toys and all the kids her age! She ran up to several kids and introduced herself. I believe her exact words were " Hi, my name is Killian Rose Graff. What's your name? I am so excited for school!" The kid simply looked at her and walked away. Mommy's heart broke a little for her, but she glanced at me and moved on to the next kid. This happened 4 times! Finally, she decided to just play by herself. I stayed and watched her for a few minutes. Then the time came that I had to head to work. I went up to her and asked if she was having fun and if mommy could go to work. She told she was having the best time ever and bye! I then MADE her give me a hug and a kiss. As I walked away I felt that lump in my throat building. So I began to speed walk out the build into my car. Once inside the privacy of the car, I called Sean and bawled!

Who couldn't love this kid?!?!?

Sorry it's sideways, I am still trying to figure out how to use my phone.

Cards by Kiki

Killian and I have started a new project, making cards. We use her fingerprints to create all sorts of cute cards. Here are a few of her creations.

2 Months!

Last week our little guy hit the 2 month mark. I can't believe he is already been here for 2 months.
At his doctors appointment he weighed 13 pounds 11 ounces, he is 23 inches long and has a 40.5cm noggin! Everyone calls him a little chunk, however, Sean and I still think he is small. I always get weird looks from people when I say he ONLY weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces. I guess not everyone has a 10 pound kid first.

2 months old

Jameson has been a great baby so far. Killian absolutely adores him. She only gets mad when she can't hear the tv over his crying. She loves to sing to him, hold him and make him smile. I think she was probably the first one of us to get to him to smile. He sleeps well in the night and when we wake up for feedings he smiles and talks to me. He wakes up in the morning smiling at us and talking away. He is fascinated with fans and his little ocean wonder projector. Everyone says he looks just like Sean. So once again my genes have lost the battle of a look-a-like. I will say as Killian has grown I can see more of me in her when I was younger. It is clear she has her mom's attitude and flare for the dramatics. So does this mean Jameson is going to be like Sean as a child??? I guess that wouldn't be such a bad thing if he turns out to be a great guy like his dad!

Killian and Jameson

I think I have finally managed to go an entire week without getting peed on or having to wipe down walls, dressers, beds and other family members. Jameson really likes to keep us on our toes. Speaking of being on our toes, we had to take him to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital when he was 2 weeks old because he failed all the hearing tests at the hospital. Those were 2 very long weeks with lots of what ifs. Thankfully he passed the test with flying colors! Nothing like having to drive an hour and forty five minutes for a thirty second test. But that's what you do when you are a parent. Our next big adventure came at about 6 weeks old. Jameson became very crabby, very gassy and started getting sick like crazy after eating. So back to the doctors we went. Turns out he had some minor reflux and has milk allergies. So lucky me, I  get to cut out all dairy from my diet! If you can't read the sarcasm in the lucky part let me just tell you, it's there. It has been really difficult to go without my dairy. We are a huge dairy family. I just get to sit a stare while Sean and Killian eat cheese, ice cream, milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, chocolate milk, chocolate and all those yummy meals Sean's mom made us while she was here. (Can you tell how hungry I am just typing about all those foods?) But cutting out all those foods and more has really helped Jameson. I have tried some of the dairy free alternatives and let me just say not even Tater would eat the pretend cheese. So I guess when I am done nursing him I am going on a dairy binge!

Handsome little guy

Introducing Baby Jameson!

On Thursday June 9th, 2011 our little guy came to join our family. And yes I said little! He was 8 pounds 7 ounces and 19.5 inches long. He was delivered via c-section on his Grandma Graff's birthday. Does that make him grandmas favorite....yes I think so too!
I was hoping for a VBAC but showing no signs of progressing past 1cm, no contractions, no thinning, and not being allowed or wanting to be induced it was decided a c-section would be best. Once again the surgery went really well and I was able to recover like nothing happened. I guess since my body doesn't like to actually labor it works out nicely that my body handles a c-section very well. Sean kept trying to tell the nurses that when I say my pain level is a 1 it really means like a 4. After listening to this for a day I had to yell at him to stop doing that, I really felt good. I was able to get up and walk around and SHOWER quickly. I think this c-section was easier then Killian's. At a week out I have already stopped taking my pain meds which I only took at the hospital and at bedtime. I honestly just forgot about them and feel good.
At my one week appointment the nurses and doctors were telling me that I am not normal. I just laughed and said okay. I am healing perfectly according to the doctor and I have already lost 20 pounds. Which is very exciting since I only gained 18 pound this pregnancy. I doubt the pounds stay off since Sean's mom stocked our freezer with food and lots of cookie dough!
Killian has been adjusting well to her new brother. We have had attention flare ups, but we have worked through them and found ways to make sure she feels like she is getting her time too. She loves to sing to Jameson and give him lots of kisses. Jameson is a great baby and we have worked out a good schedule.We can't wait to see him grow and learn!

Last picture before meeting Jameson!

Jameson Michael is here

Daddy cutting the cord.

Angry scowl!

Happy Mommy

Happy Daddy

Who would have thought he'd be this small?!?

Snug as a bug in a rug

Jameson meeting Grandma Graff his birthday buddy

Big sister!

Going home

Here we go!

LOL Jameson and his cousin Sadie. Only 4 weeks apart and  6 ounce difference at birth.

1st bath

Bath time makes him sleepy.

Photo by Killian!

Killian showing off her outfit she picked out all by herself.

Tater checking out Jameson!

Another photo by Killian!