Hanging Out

I'll admit, this has not been the most exciting visit in terms of 'events'.

Yesterday, Grandma, Grandpa, McColley, Brayton and I all headed to the skating rink.

Grandma and Grandpa took turns skating with McColley:

And, when McColley had both grandparents helping him out, T had to get in on the action too:

After skating we spent the rest of the day hanging out at home, although we did stop at T.arget to get a new head support for Brayton's car seat.  Grandma didn't think he looked too comfortable folding in half because the provided support couldn't contain him.

Today Grandma made up for being a week late by cooking Chri.stmas dinner.  In fact, it was the same dinner she'd cooked eleven days ago for all the family back in Was.hington:
(We all thought the Yorkshire Pudding turned out AMAZING!)

And the most popular sitting spot is the corner of the couch (if you're Grandpa)... and on Grandpa (if you're Brayton):

The only problem with sticking so close to home has been McColley's new love for the movie 'Sant.a Cla.use 3'... we've watched it about 10 times now... McColley really likes Jack Frost.

Two Week Check

Brayton has officially been introduced to the wild and woolly world of Well-Baby Checks.

He had his two-week check today (yes, it's a bit early... but there's that whole holiday thing).

He weighed in at 9lbs 7oz.  He's in the 90% and has gained a whole pound since birth!

However, officially he has shrunk.  According to today's measurement he is 20.75 inches... but I was told by a nurse that the difference has more to do with how much the person measuring stretches him than any actual shrinkage.

But, both his length and head circumference measurements are in the 78%.

He was then seen by the doctor, who verified that he has a bit of a clogged tear duct in his right eye.  It might be infected, so we got an ointment and they took some cultures to check for bacteria.

After the appointment we headed down to the lab for the second half of the state-mandated testing.  Brayton did really well, but it always sucks to get stuck in the heel (and that test requires quite a bit of blood).

So, Brayton has survived his first Well-Baby Check... now he just needs to go back in February for his 2 month check AND McColley will get to join him for his 30 month Well-Child Check!

Better Late Than Never

So... my parents finally got here five days and several hours late...

But, at least they made it!

And here's proof that they are enjoying cuddling Brayton:

Although Grandma and Grandpa are here, we have made no effort to entertain them... Brayton and McColley have been in charge of that.

The one thing I promised McColley that he would get to do with them is go to Chu.ck E. Che.ese, so today we all made good.

When we first arrived, McColley was uncertain about actually riding the rides... especially the horse one:

Grandma and Grandpa tried to convince McColley to overcome his hesitation and actually ride.

Brayton was underwhelmed by the whole thing:

We took a break from playing and ate our pizza.  Then Grandpa and Daddy took McColley around to win tickets.

Eventually McColley got brave, inserted a token into the horse ride... and proceeded to ride it about 10 times.

Grandma and Grandpa were so proud:

Merry Christmas!

In a move that will probably never work again, B convinced McColley to go back to sleep when he woke up at 5am by telling him that Santa hadn't come yet... so we all got to sleep in until 9am.

But when we finally did wake up, Santa had come.  

McColley enjoyed shaking out his stocking:

All McColley wanted in his stocking from Santa was candy.  When he dumped the contents of his stocking, he had two boxes worth of fruit snacks... "That's not candy!"

And, he had a bag of Kisses... "That's not candy!  That's chocolate!"

So, Santa fell down on the job just a bit, he apparently needs to re-check the definition of candy.

Once McColley's stocking was empty, he helped Daddy empty Brayton's stocking:

Then it was time to divide up the presents... of which McColley got the lion's share:

In a continuation of yesterday's theme, there was a brief diaper-changing intermission.  

McColley tried to entertain Brayton by handing him one of his new toys:

Then it was time for Brayton to open his present from Santa (an engraved silver spoon):

And McColley loved rocking in his present from Santa:

He also loved rocking out on his present from Grandma and Grandpa:

Brayton eventually changed into his Christmas outfit:

And was out of it about 10 minutes later because of some unrestrained peeing.

After all the presents were open, B made Santa/reindeer/snowman pancakes.

Then at noon we video-chatted with B's family and opened presents with them.

After that, Brayton and I took a nap.  When I eventually woke up, it was time to take a nap on Mommy:

Two and a half hours later B had made dinner, McColley was awake and Brayton continued to nap in the swing:

It wasn't the Christmas we had originally planned, but it was still perfect... and we got to talk to everyone in the family by phone at least!

I Poop On You a.k.a. Chris.tmas Eve

Seeing as how Brayton turns a whole week old tomorrow, it was time to get some portraits taken.

We got up early and headed to the studio of the photographer who took my maternity photos exactly five weeks ago.  We ended up being about 15 minutes late due to some bad Mapqu.est directions, but got there eventually.

Since we were doing newborn portraits, the photographer suggested we do some naked baby shots.  It all went really well... except for the part where Brayton pooped on B.  Now for those that haven't had the joy of seeing breastfed baby poop... it's runny and BRIGHT yellow.  And, it stains.  But, it was funny!

When we got home, McColley decided to enhance his 'Jin.gle Bells':


He then demanded that I take a picture of him with his 'tuba':

It was then time for B and McColley to make some cookies for Sant.a.

McColley was very helpful with the mixing:

All that cooking with sugar required a broccoli snack for balance:

The cookie dough had to set in the fridge for three hours.  While that was happening we went to the candlelight service at church.

We got there about a half an hour before the service was to start, which would be just about perfect at our previous churches to assure a seat.  At the church here, we were EARLY.  We took the time to try and convince McColley to hang out in the nursery, but he refused.

So all four of us 'sat' through the service.  McColley was disappointed each time a hymn started and it wasn't Jin.gle Bells.  He also had trouble not talking through the sermon.  However, he did participate in the Children's Sermon for the first time.

In continuation of a theme... Brayton decided to participate in the Lord's Pr.ayer by pooping.  Luckily, he was diapered.

When we got home the dough was ready.  So, McColley picked out the cutters he wanted to use and cut out cookies for Santa:

He then added some sprinkles:

Once the cookies were safely in the oven, McColley got to open one present.

He opened the present from Uncle Sean and Uncle Joe with great gusto:

He then changed into his Christmas PJs to set out cookies and milk for Santa... plus a treat for the reindeer:

After reading 'Twa.s The Night Bef.ore Chr.istmas, McColley fell asleep so Santa could come.

And on a related note, we hung Brayton's Fir.st Christmas ornament (after a small disagreement with Hallm.ark about how many we'd bought):

Visiting Santa

I sent B out of the house this morning as soon as I could.

And no, he didn't do anything wrong.

Actually, he had to get Brayton into the DEER.S system and into TriC.are.  We thought the hour+ wait would be easier without the boys.

He got back in time to make lunch and then it was time to take Brayton into the base clinic for his 2-5 day check.

They weighed him (he's back to his birth weight!) and then just did a visual exam.  All is well and we got our 'official' two week appointment made.

We also got a free rectal thermometer and a book from the AAP.

Since we were already out of the house and all bundled up... we decided to risk messing up nap time and go get pictures with Santa.

McColley was uncertain about not going directly home, but as soon as we got into the mall, he was excited to see Santa.

Of course, before we got to see Santa, we had to stop at O.ld Nav.y and buy the boys winter sweaters for the picture.

The line ended up being quite long, so while B and Brayton waited, McColley and I headed to Hallm.ark and bought Brayton's First Chri.stmas ornament.

We finally made it up to Santa and McColley basically refused to smile while Brayton took a more zen approach:

For the last picture McColley took a peek at Santa:

After the pictures McColley wanted to look at the reindeers some more, so Brayton and I sped down to K*B T.oys.  Brayton needed to get McColley a Chri.stmas present and we managed to pick up something even though the store was basically picked through.

Of course, having screwed up nap time, it was a bit difficult to convince McColley to leave the mall.  It only took about two temper tantrums and a bribe to get him out the door.

In other good news, we got flowers from B's parents delivered today and McColley's present from Uncles Sean and Joe.  We also got confirmation that the couple of things we ordered on Friday should be delivered in time for Christ.mas.

In fact, the only thing that won't be delivered in time for Ch.ristmas is my parents.  Their flight out of S.eattle got cancelled and so far they have only been able to re-book for Friday.  

Here's hoping they figure out a way to get here sooner!

First Trip Out Of The House

We needed a few things from the store, so we decided to make it a quick family trip.

Luckily, we actually had the opportunity to put Brayton in his snowsuit this time (even if it is a bit big):

Then Daddy and McColley made sure he was properly buckled up:

And this was how Brayton felt about the experience:

Luckily he calmed down when we actually started moving... and this was his general attitude pretty much once we started driving:

In fact, I took that last picture once we got home.  Brayton slept through the entire drive to the store, the entire trip through the store and the entire drive home.  He's actually still sleeping in his car seat in the middle of the living room... but he's starting to stir...

Oh, and we got batteries for the swing!  Now we'll just have to see if he likes it!

Home Again, Home Again

It amazes me that it takes almost no time for a personality to emerge... so much for that whole blank slate thing...

Right now my 'play nickname' for Brayton is Grunty.  When he wants something, he first gets your attention by grunting and only if you keep ignoring him will he cry.  He's actually pretty zen... as long as someone is holding him.

This picture is from the about ten minutes he slept in his hospital bassinet (after he was over 24 hours old):

Saturday morning the pediatrician came in about 9am and cleared Brayton for discharge.

B and McColley got to the hospital a bit after that and then we just had to wait for my doctor to clear me for discharge.  He came in about 11am and then we finally started prepping to leave.

I hopped into the shower and B got Brayton dressed to go.

Well... about half dressed:

All of Brayton's ID bracelets were on his ankles and couldn't be cut off until right before we left the mother/baby ward.  So, we couldn't put on the pants OR the snow suit.

McColley had to check everything out and see what was happening:

Eventually we got our discharge papers, signed all our forms and got all our stuff together.

We left the mother/baby ward at 1pm.  I had to be wheeled out to the car, so B took the boys out:

It was kind of amazing to load them both into the car and realize that we are now a family of 4:

We got home and I assumed my (now imprinted) position on the couch:
Brayton is a voracious eater and McColley is fascinated.  Also, all that nursing is tying my lap up... so we've had a bit of a battle over it.  McColley keeps telling B to take the baby so HE can sit on me instead.

Luckily, Brayton is pretty zen, so when McColley gets whiny and pushy Brayton just gets this look of 'what's-up-with-that-guy' and returns to his previous activity.

However, during one of the battles over my lap last night, B decided we should try out Brayton in the swing.

As continued proof of our unpreparedness... we hadn't put new batteries in it.

Oh, and we didn't have enough of the size it needs.

Needless to say... Brayton wasn't too excited about the swing that doesn't swing:

We managed to go to bed about 10pm and it was a pretty good night for the first night home.

I can only hope our luck will continue!

Surprise!

For those of you keeping score out there, and sending the karma that Katharine really would not make it to work on Thursday and Friday, your wishes were answered.

At approximately 5:30 this morning Katharine woke up with what she thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions. As she got up and went out into the kitchen and started cleaning, or "nesting" as I asked her if she was doing, she said that she was trying to move around and drink some water to see if her contractions would go away. The contractions were low, all below her belly button, so they didn't seem like "real contractions."

Moving around did not work, and the contractions were still there. We were trying to determine if there was a pattern to them, but none of my watches work at the moment, so we had to find new and interesting ways to attempt to time said contractions. McColley woke up, and Katharine decided that she would take a shower.

McColley and I were sitting on the couch, eating McColley's breakfast when I decided to go an check on Katharine. She had been in the shower for almost thirty minutes, and if the contractions were going away, then I needed to get ready to try and make my 7:30 appointment. McColley and I went into the bathroom and Katharine was on all fours in the bathtub. Her contractions were not going away.

So, Katharine got out of the shower, and after getting dressed, and going through several more contractions, which were about five minutes apart all morning, she called the triage nurse's phone number. They said the doctor would call back in the next 15 minutes. I then hopped into the shower, and Katharine said take a quick one, and when I got out, the doctor had called and said to go to the hospital for a labor check.

Needless to say, we were not ready. While Katharine stayed on the bed, trying to breathe through each contraction, I ran around the house trying to get everything we needed in case we had to stay at the hospital. Luckily we had our bag packed, and a bag of McColley if he needed to stay at a friend's house, but there are things that you just can't pack until it happens. I also couldn't remember where all the pieces to the car seat were, and luckily Katharine could tell me. I called the office, told them that I would not be making the 7:30 meeting, and that there was a possibility that I couldn't make the 9:00 meeting and they should be ready for it.

We called T's mom, who normally gets to sleep in, and got a hold of her right before we left the house. We dropped McColley, his car seat and his "rescue pack" as he calls it, off at her house, and she told me to get food for Katharine, because they wouldn't let her eat once we got into the hospital. With the construction at the housing gate, we are forced to exit another direction, right behind a McDo.nald's, so I was able to get Katharine her comfort food.

We arrive at the hospital at about 7:45, and the nurse's have us wait in the waiting area, while they find KC's chart. They then take her back to the triage area, and once they ask her some questions, they let me go back there too. The nurse comes in to hook Katharine up to the monitor, and then the midwife comes in from our practice. At our last appointment, KC asked who was on call next week, to see who could possibly deliver our son. Did we ask for this week? No. The midwife was the one on call today, and she exams Katharine. The first words out of the midwife's mouth are, "Wow! You're not leaving here. Let's get you into a room." Katharine was seven centimeters, moving close to eight.

We grab our meager supply of stuff and head to a labor and delivery room. KC got all settled in, and then I asked whether I should go and get our stuff. The nurse asked if there was anything in it we needed for the delivery, and I said yes, the cord blood donation kit. She said I should run. Then she said she was only partially joking. I jog out to the car, get the kit and our camera, call my office and tell them what they need to do for the day and that I will not be making it in. I get back upstairs and call our parents to tell them that we did what we could, but we could not the baby off until KC's parents got here on Monday.

At about 9:15, the midwife comes in and tells KC that she doesn't have to stay in the bed, that she should move around and asks if there is anything she needs. KC was definitely to eight centimeters by now, and she asked for a birthing ball. The nurse found one, layed a sheet on it, and KC sat on it. Three contractions later, and we were back in the bed because our son was ready to make his debut.

Katharine did great, and at 10:57 this morning (it is after midnight here now, so actually yesterday morning) Brayton William was born. He is 8lbs. 7 ozs., and 21 inches long. We started calling family to tell them the good news, and promised them that pictures would be coming on this blog soon. And yes, if you do the math, KC only labored for a little over five hours. If you choose to be bitter and jealous about that time, let me tell you it does go easier with the second one, because Katharine was in labor 41 hours with McColley. And she still loves him.

Through an odd twist of fate, both of our sons were born at KGH, on opposite sides of the country. This hospital has WiFi, and we thought that we would be able to post to our blog from the hospital. Like any good business, KGH wants to make sure that none of their employees goof off while on work, and social networking sites are blocked on their free WiFi servers. We can see our blog, but we can not see any pictures, or post to it at all.

I picked McColley up around 6 this evening, and we got dinner for the family, and we went to the hospital so that Mac could meet his little brother. He didn't seem to understand on the way there that Brady was born, but he did understand once we got there and he saw Brady asleep in the bassinet. We ate our dinner in the hospital room, and then I brought McColley home and I am watching him tonight. We figured that would be better for him. Katharine doesn't know this until she reads this, but McColley was not happy about leaving Mommy in the hospital. We tried to explain why she had to stay, but he didn't accept any of our rationalizations. I took him out of the room, and he was crying a little bit, and that was how he was walking out to the car.

Once we got to the car, I got him into his car seat and was able to snap in one of the restraints before he fully realized what was going on. He then began freaking out when we drove out of the parking lot at about 8:30 tonight, and didn't stop screaming and throwing his tantrum for a good hour.

He wanted to go back to the hospital and see Mommy. There was no making him understand why KC had to stay the night(she'll have to stay two nights, actually) and so he got visibly upset. Of course, he did tire himself out and it was easy to put him to bed, but I fell asleep too. So that is why it is taking until now to post some videos and pictures of the newest addition of our family. This is the first time that I will have uploaded photos and video, so please bear with me. And unfortunately, none of them will have the great captions that Katharine is so talented at writing. And also, KC and I spent much of the morning trying to remember if Eli was born on the 16th or 18th, so thank you Eli, for allowing us to share your birthday. It looks like we have now given you two birthday presents!

I also entered in the information on expectnet.com, so if you played our little pool, you will be able to see that Christel kicked some major a$$ in it. I was pretty close on everything except the day that he was born, so I got screwed, but Stel won with 78.75 points. Marianne came in second with 618.25 points. (It is like golf, the lower the score, the better).

And I also have to say, having a crack.berry is not the greatest thing. Especially when your wife is in labor, and your mailbox reaches it's size limit, and you can not send anything.

And no, I did not intentionally put my picture first. I forgot that the last picture you upload is the first on that gets posted. And lucky for me, with the 2009 NDAA, I get ten days of paternity leave!

Lesson Learned

Tip of the Day:

Do not eat a sugar cookie and drink sugary juice 20 minutes before your OB appointment.

But it was totally not my fault because McColley made me do it!

Yes, I am mature.

I had yet another OB appointment today.  McColley and I went to skating as usual, but today was their holiday party.  So instead of the usual ICEE pops, they gave out sugar cookies and red juice.  McColley wasn't really feeling either, so he ate about a fourth and then force fed the rest to me.

I had planned it so that I could leave directly from skating to go to my appointment and McColley went over to T's house.  We did the car seat exchange and I headed to the doctor's office.  I even got there early this time!  And B was only about two minutes behind me!

Did the usual... weight and blood pressure are good.

I actually saw the Midwife today... so, she puts the dipstick in my sample and then has to check the side of the dipstick container to verify what the color means.

Her question: "What did you eat for breakfast this morning?"

Me:  "Coffee..."

Her:  "With sugar?"

Me:  "Yes.  (Thinking to myself that two tablespoons of Fre.nch Vanil.la Creamer probably counts as sugar.)  Oh, and I had Fro.sted Flak.es."

She and B give me 'The Look'.

Me:  "Oh, and I just ate a sugar cookie and some juice about 20 minutes ago... but my son made me do it."

B:  "That's probably true, if he doesn't want something he will just shove it into her mouth."

Her:  "Well, OK then.  But this is showing a lot of sugar, so if this happens again we're going to make you do the three hour glucose test."

The Midwife then checked my cervix and not a ton of change.  I'm 2-3cm dilated and about 60% effaced.  The baby is still at -2 station and she could feel his head... so he's still in the right position.

All I want is for the baby to wait a week before doing anything.  There are reasons for this: 

1) I want my parents to get here (which they will do on Monday); 

2) My stupid cold is still hanging around, so I would like to be able to breath freely while in labor; 

3) My stupid cold has made me cough like an insane person and I've pulled the muscles from my left hip to my left armpit, so I would really like for those to not hurt every time I move while I labor.

See, those are pretty sane reasons for a woman who is 39 weeks pregnant to want to stay pregnant for at least another week.

My next appointment is with the Midwife again and on my due date.  I will be eating something whole grainy for breakfast!

On an unrelated note:  I taught McColley how to turn the Chr.istmas Tr.ee lights on and off.  No more bending down for me!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Chri.stmas

We finally made it out to the Chr.istmas Tr.ee Farm.  

And, despite everyone now having a cold, we were ready to search for The Perfect Tree™:

However, merely a few rows into our search, McColley decided to take a nap:

And only woke up in time to help Daddy cut down The Perfect Tree™:

While my men cut down the tree... I ran back into Dov.er.  Of course, we didn't remember that the Chr.istmas Tree Farm only takes cash so I had to go hit the ATM.

I returned just after the tree finished getting shaken and bundled.

Then B thought he could fit it INSIDE the car:

And he did... however, McColley was a bit uncertain about the arrangement:

The really smart thing about having the tree in the car was that it made it easy to hammer the stand on:

And then the top needed a bit of trimming:

And it was finally ready to bring inside:

After B cut the netting off, the cats took a few moments to inspect the tree:

Later, B busted out all our Chr.istmas boxes and we finally decorated the tree.

B wanted to take a moment and explain to McColley all about his ornaments:

McColley then hung his three ornaments:

And I did my best to get a picture of him in front of the tree:

Once the tree was done it was time to decorate the rest of the house.

First, we set up the table... and yeah... we need new tapers for our advent wreath:

We also hung our beautiful wall hanging and the new stockings for the boys (this is the only Brayton thing we have done... since we don't know if this will be his first Chr.istmas or not):

The last thing to do was hang the Jing.le Be.ll Wreath on the front door.  McColley decided that the donkey needed to help Daddy... and, obviously, the cats are always SUPER helpful with things: