It's Been A Long While

Wow, it has been a long time since the last post here. My main purpose to this post was to talk about running. In a very condensed short summary, we are back in Hawaii. On Sunday December 8th, I completed my first Marathon in 4:12:10. Alexandra has completed 2 half marathons this year, and Maggie has completed multiple 5ks and a 10k. How did we get here? I hadn't ran much since joining the Navy, once every 6 months for 1.5 miles and on occasion I would run off and on. I ran a half marathon with Chief Ransdell in 2013, but did not train for it properly and that resulted in me not running much again. Alexandra, to my understanding, did not ever consider herself a runner until this year and here we are cranking out the miles in 2019 in Hawaii. So again, how did this happen? Well I was an instructor at prototype which was a stressful rotating shift work job. One way or another medical noticed on multiple occasions that my blood pressure was borderline hypertension. Had I been drinking coffee, yes. Had I been very active and probably stressed about getting back to work, yes. So they wanted to monitor me, they also recommended eating healthier, cutting out fast food, drinking less alcohol and coffee. But I already did not eat much fast food, at most a couple times a month. I wasn't really into the other options, but I did try them out, by the way a week without coffee sucks. Oh and they recommended more exercise. I tried running more, but my knee just didn't want to hack it for anything over 2 miles. So I turned to biking and started going for bike rides a couple times a week for anything from 2 - 10 miles. My theory was this would strengthen my knees. It seemed to work and I was able to start running more. I barely got the doctors off my back, and when I arrived in Hawaii they were also interested in my blood pressure, so I started running more and more. 2-3 times per week, and I successfully got my blood pressure where it needed to be. But I kept running. Now Alexandra was looking for mom friends and discovered Stroller Warriors, and began their Couch to 5K program, and as the running progressed with these new friends she began enjoying the running as well as the company. She graduated from Couch to 5k to the Bridge to 10k. She was now a full fledged runner, and volunteered to coach the next couch to 5k and bridge to 10k groups. Like I said before she has ran 2 half marathons and multiple 10ks and 5ks now. She is planning on running the Honolulu Marathon 2020. Through stroller warriors the kids got involved in a fun Mini-Miles program. This is how we discovered Maggie is a running machine, she can just run and run and run. We decided to sign her up for a 5k. Which she won for her age group, and by age group I mean she won the 14 and under girls. She is 7. So wow, she won another 5k later. We did a bigger (bigger scale, more people) trail style 5k and she came in 2nd, she was bummed, but we are still impressed. She is motivated and wants to get faster! So now I have Alexandra and Maggie both motivating me to be a better runner. For one, I just want stay faster than Maggie as long as I can hang, so for now I am her pacer on her 5ks. So all of this has happened in about a year of moving back to the island. It has been nuts and life changing. Nolan is also getting into running, and Max a little bit as well. Carson is chomping at the bit for his chance as well, he ran a mile with me at his little tiny legs pace. With all this running and the hiking we are doing, we are being a very outdoor and fit family and I am loving it, who would have thought this is where we would be and what we would be doing at this point in our lives, but its been awesome! I almost started a brand new blog for this, but realized I might as well continue the story where I left off.

NOLAN Birth and First Month

First off wow, it has been almost a year since this was updated.

So, I had a sneaking suspicion he was coming earlier than the other two. Something told me it was going to be during the 37th week. And he did, earlier than I thought but he came earthside at 37 weeks and 3 days. July 27th, 2014 at 5:20pm. Btw, we swore it was 5:25 but all the paperwork says 5:20 so we'll go with that. My water broke at 4am. We really didn't have anything ready so we packed my bag and got the house ready. We texted our sitter who had agreed to be on call if he came earlier than my in-laws. We also texted the Birth Photographer, Cory Danner Photography to let her know we'd be heading to the hospital sometime that day. We finally went around noon because Matthew was bugging me and I wanted to make sure we called the sitter to come over in plenty of time.
 So we get to the hospital around 1 and I am about 4/5cm. No iv, no constant monitoring except for an initial 30minute to check everything. Contractions 3minutes apart like they had been all morning. Finally around 4:30 the nurse checked me again and still 4/5cm. However, my contractions are alot closer together, not that the nurse seemed to notice. She told me I needed to walk but then left me attached to the machine for one of the intermittent monitoring sessions. She left and I told Matthew to run the bath. The nurse came back and told me the Ob on call, it was a Sunday after all, wanted to start me on Pitocin. I said no. She wanted me to walk the hall, I said no. She is a little angry I can tell. This is 4:50pm mind you. I get in the tub and not long after I feel I need to push. I am basically crowning as the Ob on call pokes her head in to check on me. The angry nurse is yelling I need to get out of the tub. The Ob tells her " you and what army, I'm not moving her." I deliver Nolan Patrick in the tub and this is the only 2minutes I see of this Ob. Matthew said he peed as soon as he came out.
The angry nurse grumbles something about Mixson's (my ob) patients always do this and shouldn't be allowed to use the tubs. When I tell one of my midwives about this she just laughed and said there is no hospital policy against it. Nolan weighed 6lbs and 8oz and 18" long. He weighed the exact same as Maggie but an inch shorter. He dropped down to 6lbs 2oz in the hospital and by Thursday he was 6lbs 5oz and the following Thursday he was 7lbs 1oz and the next Tuesday he was 7lbs 7oz. So at around 2 weeks old he gained his birth weight back plus 15oz. He is growing like a champ.
By 3 weeks he was rolling from tummy to back mostly towards the right. He does this a few times a week. At 6 weeks he is in 3m clothes.
Maggie is the sweetest big sister always wanting to play and give kisses. She has always been gentle so far. Maxim doesn't care since Nolan can't play cars or trains yet. Nolan is such a happy baby.

Maggie is 15months

So Maggie had her 15month well baby yesterday. She lost a few ounces and has been having strange poops so they took a stool sample and told us to add some pediasure into her diet. I hope that helps. She doesn't want to poke and prod Maggie since she figures the few ounces is because Maggie being more active and has a great metabolism. She said she doesn't want Maggie to be plump just to maintain her growth curve. We go back in 6 weeks for a weight check. She is verbally more advanced than Maxim at this age. She says no, go, uh oh, night night and we swore she said "where you go" two separate times. Matthew actually asked me about her saying that before I said I thought she said it.  She also can feed herself with a spoon and is practically run.  Update yall in 6 weeks.

14months Old

So our little coconut is 14months old. She is now walking. Matthew has been gone alot this summer. A few days before he came home he got an email about Maggie is taking steps a few here and a few there but the days between were getting fewer. Then in the week he was home she went from that to full blown walking. It was crazy. I am so glad he was there to see it! I think she had some kind of intuition that he was coming since this visit home was a little unexpected. She is still a huge eater. It doesn't matter what it is she wants it. Fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, crackers you name it she will eat it. She is still in 6month clothes though some are slowly getting retired. She is still in size 1 diapers. Her hair is getting thicker and longer and it is getting easier to put a small bow in and have it hold.
Her newest thing besides walking is she puts on a necklace and sits on the dino rider. I don't think she knows it moves or how to figure it out but as of now just sitting on it makes her happy.

Look Alikes

I recently got some pictures of my husband as a baby. I put some collages together. I think Maxim and Maggie are little clones of him. You be the judge

 I couldn't find a good picture of me at 2 to compare. Though my face was round at 2 like Max's is but he has all daddy's features.

13month Coconut update

Our little Coconut is 13months today. No, she is not walking. She does have days where she takes a crazy amount of steps and then nothing for a week or more. I think she is waiting until Daddy is working less. If you remember she didn't really start rolling over until 7months but by 8months she was crawling and 9months pulling up. She just likes Daddy to see her milestones just like her big brother. No weight or length updates until 15months. She babbles alot. Her newest thing is she tries to blow kisses. It is so cute. She is still a huge foody. There is not much she doesn't like. Maggie is still in 6month clothes and her hair is getting so long that I often take a small clip to keep it out of her eyes. I don't plan on cutting it anytime soon. Her hair doesn't surprise me since about 11months Max has had monthly haircuts. Hair on the ears bugs me.

Max though he still isn't most understandable 2 year old his vocabulary is definitely coming along. I think the newest addition is Water and Bubbles. Bubble Guppies is the first tv show he has requested. He will point to the tv and say bubbles. Sometimes he will just point and say tv. He also calls both the radio and tv, "tv." Whenever we try to differentiate different items like radio and tv or car and truck, he just looks at us and says okay. He doesn't say "yes" he says "okay." For instance, "max, are you hungry?"   "Okay" will be the response. "There you go," "here we go," "no" and "uh oh/ oh no" are still big staples of his vocabulary. Maxim also loves to grab people by their finger and show them things where in a store or in the house or at the aquatic center.  We love our little buddy. He is also doing so well transitioning into a toddler bed. I have also been leaving the door to his room ajar and when he is finished reading books to sleep he wakes up and comes out. I am so proud how well he is doing.

Boys Home

As you may or may not know I am part of an organization called MOMS Club. It is a great group of ladies with wonderful kids. It is such a great drama free environment. Seriously! For example a little boy in the middle of potty training peed on a little girl during a playdate in the backyard and nobody got mad. What can you really do but laugh?  Anyway after a year I was asked if I was willing to join the board. So I am now the Administrative Vice President (Admin VP). I am in charge of charities and fundraising.
One of our ongoing charities is the Methodist's Boys Home. They house about 12 boys at any given time. Each friday we volunteer to bring a baked good. We also keep track of birthdays and if a birthday falls that week then we make sure to bring something like brownies or cupcakes.
Well it is back to school season and to help them out a little more we are donating some school supplies. I am so thrilled with what we are donating considering we only have about 25 members and probably half are actually actively involved. We have 22 notebooks, 2 package of paper, 3 packages of pens, 2 packs of highlighters, 2 packs of colored pencils and 4 glue sticks.
I know they are grateful and appreciative of our donations especially when we drop off the baked goods and the boys look excited. It just feels nice to give back.

Breastfeeding

You may or may not know this is world breastfeeding week. You may be surprised that the reccomendation is 2years. Well personally that is too long for me. My goal with both kids was a year. Max we only got to 6months and with more support I think I could have made it a year. Though many people do it tandem nursing non multiples doesn't appeal to me, so Maxim would have been weaned a at year.
One fact about breastmilk that I find fascinating is your babies saliva changes the content of your milk. Basically as your child grows and needs change so does your milk. Also breastmilk is supply and demand. When you are empty your production increases and when you are full it decreases.  So when baby is constantly at your breast during a growth spurt constantly "emptying" it is telling your body to make more! Also I use quotes around empty because you are never truly empty. Even though it is almost a month since weaning Maggie I am still producing milk.
It makes me sad that many moms are told they can't. Your milk can take upto 10days for your milk to come in. Before that you are just producing colostrum.  This is certainly enough for your newborn. Many moms in the 80s and 90s were told that they couldn't breastfeed and this was probably simply not true for most. Luckily, more and more hospitals are taking formula samples out of delivery rooms. When I was admitted6/ when Maggie was born they were in the bottom of the bassinet and the nurse simply asked if I was planning on breastfeeding and when I said "yes" she removed it. I wish nurses would stop telling new moms "just incase." I feel this just leads to breastfeeding failure.
Though Max was a champ off the bat, it took Maggie 2 weeks to get the hang of breastfeeding. It is nice having a husband who is a good support system and even through those 2 rough weeks was a huge help.
Just because you didn't breastfeed your previous babies doesn't mean you can't breastfeed subsequent babies. Also even if your baby is 3/6/9months old and formula fed you can relactate. It may take 4-6weeks of dry nursing but you can do it.
I know this blog is usually just about family but this is a topic that inspires me.

Car Trouble

So found out on July 1st my car needed major repairs. I was dropping Matthew off at work and the gate guard was like "don't you hear that?" Naturally, we said "no." Once we parked, Matthew looked under and my dust cover had half fallen off. I had a dr's apppointment later that day and I was telling the nurse about it and she said oh that happens to me all the time since I have a low car. It is a simple repair. And it would have been if that was all that was wrong.
I took it to the repair shop only to discover that not only had the dust cover fallen but my grill and bumper were cracked and my radiator tubes were rubbing against each other. So they told me to go to an autobody shop. Great!
Both places said that I ran over something. I don't remember doing this and I even asked Matthew incase I had told him and forgotten. Since it was the week of July 4th and they were taking days off they said to bring it in the following Monday. So I do and they tell me Friday for sure it will be ready. Well it is Saturday and they are telling me Monday afternoon. So we will see.
In the meantime, I am driving Matthew's truck. The first time I drove it and came home, my car was still in the garage so I couldn't turn it around. The next time I drove it I then killed 2 of our lawn lights backing down. So we are now down to 2 lights. Matthew killed one and a guy he works with killed another. So it isn't like he is in the clear with running over lights either. In my defense, our driveway is long, inclined and curved.
Now that my car is not in our garage I can turn the truck around at the top of the driveway. I have to say after almost a week of doing this I am doing a pretty good job if I do say so myself. Also since driving the truck I have not hit anything or run over curves. I am not so worried about hitting things but I thought I would have run over a curb thinking I could take a tighter turn than I can. Maybe I am just being ultra cautious.
Anyway that is what is new with us. 

The Coconut is a year!

Maggie turned a year today. She was born at 3:40pm weighing 6lbs 8oz and having a length of 19". Today at her appointment she weighed 14lbs 11oz and had a length of 25.5". She is still in the zero percentile but we are blessed with a pediatrician that doesn't look at the chart and looks at my child and sees she is happy, healthy, and meeting milestones. We have used up our freezer stash of breastmilk and started whole milk. So far so good and she loves it. Matthew was concerned because they taste so different. Turns out not be a concern. She is still nursing when she wakes in the morning. I could probably wean her from that one if I wanted to. It is most likely more for me.

 It took her about a week to get used to a sippy cup as I started weaning her down to one nursing session a 2 weeks ago. I feel blessed that we got a year of breastfeeding snuggles together. It was a rough 2 weeks with her but thanks to the support of my husband we got through it. If you have been following this blog you know we were bullied into formula feeding Maxim at 6months when he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive (FTT). Maggie also was diagnosed as FTT at 6months. Funny to see dramatically different outcomes. I think this makes me secretly judge those that don't breastfeed/pump for their children. I am lucky here that my group of friends all breastfeed and we all share our knowledge and support with one another.

For instance one Mom had a baby and was determined to BF and even though the baby dropped to 5lbs at one point she never gave up and never supplemented and now that baby is thriving. She said it was because of our support and guidance that she was able to ignore the doctors' pressure to formula feed.

Maggie can stand by herself now and she pulls herself up and walks along furniture too. She makes lots of sounds far more than Max did at this age. Maxim wasn't silent just his sounds were less diverse. Maggie's cake smash pictures came out super cute but she quickly gets tired of cake since she picks at it very daintily with her thumb and index finger. She is a huge eater, like nonstop. I hope she keeps this up. Though Max likes a bunch of food he has narrowed his interest and also doesn't always want to eat when he is supposed to or what he is given. I guess that just comes with him being 2.

Missed a month

So let's go back to April. Maggie had her 9 month appointment and she was 13lbs 10oz so 4oz less than Max at that age. By the end of April she also was pulling up and walking along furniture. We recently had to lower her crib because she learned to stand up in her crib. Next check up is at a year.

Maxim just had his 2 yr check up and he was 25.5lbs and 32.5" tall. This puts him at 20th percentile for weight and 6th percentile for height. Still little. Oh and he is in the 0 percentile for head circumfrence. He is loving all his birthday presents. We now have lots of trains, cars and trucks! He had a bounce house for his birthday which he loves. He jumps well and often shows us when he gets up in the morning and after nap in his crib. His birthday party was Elmo themed.

She's Mobile!

It seems like our coconut was waiting for Daddy. Since he came home the beginning of February she started rolling over regularly and as of a little over a week ago she has been crawling. She is starting to be all over the place. She even tries to chase, though unuccessfully, Maxim. I crudely weighed her on our scale and she seems to be about 13.5lbs.

Max is slowly becoming more vocal though when he says little phrases it still surprises us. He will occasionally say new words. He is picking up signing pretty fast now. So we can get him to sign please and thank you. Because of this we are going to try to potty train him with signing. He is showing lots of signs that his body is ready. We'll give it a try. Hopefully it all goes well. We also signed him up for swim lessons so we'll see how that goes.

We had a great time on our vacation this month to New Orleans. We have gone to zoos alot this month as well as children's museums and it is great to see Max getting old enough to really get excited and interact. Before we know it we'll have two toddlers that are excited about these activities.

Time to Update

So I realized it's been awhile since we've updated. First off Matthew is home!!!!!!!!! He came home just about 2.5 weeks ago and we are all loving having him home. It is amazing how you forget what the kids have learned in 3months until someone is amazed by it all. 

Maggie started solids at 7months and Matthew was the first to feed her. Since it was something that could wait I decided why have another first without him when we could wait. Her first food was sweet potatoes but she didn't like it. We suspect it was too thick. She now takes it fine. I thin any veggies with breastmilk. She has had pumpkin, sweet potatoes, pears, apple sauce, plums and mangos so far. Later this week we'll introduce carrots. She also has had odds and ends off our plates. Maggie is still in 3month clothes and I'm just waiting for her to length the tiniest bit so she'll grow out of them and we'll have fun in new clothes. Maggie also had her first trip to the zoo this month. Next well baby is at 9months so no weight/ length update.

Maxim is still as mobile as ever. He said a new word a few days after Matthew got home and another a few days later, shoes and socks. We recently got Max some more outdoor toys since we love to play outside but he hasn't had many outdoor toys. We got a nerf style soccer ball and a rubber ball the size of a cabbage ball along with a bubble wand. It's fun to see him run around the yard and laugh. He recently got a new pair of shoes and they are squeak shoes. It helps us keep track of him and the squeaking doesn't bother us one bit and frankly I don't care if it annoys others. It's funny when he stops and looks around like he hasn't quite figured out the squeak is coming from him. He has another pair of shoes for when we need quite shoes like church or someone's house.

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Maggie 6month update

Maggie's 6 month well baby was today and went pretty well. Much better than Maxim's. Maggie is 11lb 6.5oz and 23.5" long. So she gained a lb. Apparently according to the chart Maggie shouldn't be thriving but her ped said she looks great and acts fine so we're all good. But because of protocol Maggie had to have a full blood work up and a urine catch. After two failed attempts at the clinic they sent us to the hospital to get the blood draw where they got it and Maggie laughed the entire time. The urine catch was a failure. They gave me 2 kits and both times she leaked out of them. I will go back tomorrow have them do it and then get the immunizations she needs that we didn't finish getting today. Because the flu is on the rise her pediatrician wanted her to get the flu shot instead of one of her immunizations. But the flu shot is in two parts for her. So my plan is go the lab having them put on the bag securely, go get immunized and hopefully Maggie will have peed and we can return to the lab. Fingers crossed.

Max of course is still doing great and runs around non stop. He enjoyed openning all of his presents at christmas, and everyone else's as well. Next year he'll have competition.

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5 and 19month Updates

No weight or height updates this month since no doctor appointments this month.  However, Maggie is doing great with tummy time and will roll to her back from her stomach and will even scootch around her tummy. She doesn't really roll from back to front yet but I'm sure it'll happen in time. She is really close to sitting up and will occassionally sit for like 5seconds. She is still really interested in Max and thinks he is hilarious, but who doesn't? She is still wearing 0-3month clothes but I am pretty sure she is going through a growth spurt since my little 12hour a night sleeper has been waking the last few nights. Maxim is doing well. I am pretty sure I solved the diaper rash mystery by getting rid of acidic foods such as citrus and tomatoes. He loves tomato sauce so that's sad. He still just babbles and doesn't have clear words. Though he says "no" alot and then laughs. He has become even more of a climber. However, sometimes he climbs and then doesn't know how to get down such as his rocking horse. He also has started climbing into Maggie's entertainer seat and then of course can't get out. They have both seen Santa twice and both hated him. Oh well, everyone needs to a crying Santa picture and I get a 2 for 1 this year. Hopefully they are better next year. 9 days until Christmas and I'm sure Max will enjoy unwrapping gifts. Maggie of course could care less.

Love and Miss you Matthew
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Assembly Required

Today we got one Maxim's last gift. A chair for him. It was actually something we were planning on getting him for his birthday but never got around to. I assumed it would come all together afterall it is a plush chair with a slip cover. The package was delivered today and the box was smaller than I expected but I thought maybe like our memory foam mattress it is vacuumed packed. However, the chair came in 5 pieces: 4 foam pieces and the slip cover. It took about 5minutes to assemble so that wasn't bad. I am glad Max isn't old enough that I have to wait until the night before christmas to assemble things. Just makes me think that there is a guy who looks at a product and says ' you know we could make it in one piece or for the fun it make it in multiple and have the consumer assemble it.'

421 We love and miss you Matthew, stay safe

Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving without Matthew but it was good. We went over to another wife on the boat's house. Max and Maggie wore their matching shirts. Max did well though he was a little young to play with the other kids but he is used to playing alone. He mostly just messed with magnets on the fridge. He did make a friend who he could convince to pick him up and get him another crescent roll. He probably had like 5 rolls and 16oz of milk while we were there. The next day while we were eating leftovers he enjoyed the carrots I made and the ham. I'll post the carrot recipe below.  I generally try to pick things to bring to potlucks that I know will be forgotten. For instance at Thanksgiving we had I believe 4 stuffings. I think that is over kill.  T

This Thursday I have another Thanksgiving potluck which is for the FRG. I am slowly liking this FRG better. I didn't really care for them at first. I think spending Thanksgiving with a few of the wives helped me get to know some of them better and I had a good time. I forced myself to go to the Thanksgiving so I wouldn't be alone when I had a good offer. It is making me rethink my decision not to go to the Halfway Night or Final Fling which are only a few weeks apart.

This brings up an issue I have. Being on a fast attack boat deployments are 6months long and you plan all these events to try to pass the time and it helps to some extent. Now we are on a boomer and "deployments" as they like to call patrols are 6weeks to 3months long generally and so they try to cram everything into this shorter period. It is just funny to me. So far I haven't heard any complaining which is good. This is the first patrol for most of the wives and sailors on the boat. I guess technically ours too. I just keep thinking back to Matthew's first deployment on the Columbus where he had I think 7weeks without communication. I remember during those 7 weeks watching the news and wondering. It  was 7 weeks of worry but I also remember how happy I was when my email downloaded those 30+ emails. It was exhilerating. However, I was out of town on a quilt retreat and had to wait a few more days to read and respond to them. On this boat there will be none of that.

This post ended up being very long. However,  I still need some kids updates. Max is 18months and I don't think there is really anything new except he is better at climbing. For example he climbs on the ottoman and toy chest well but to get on the couch he pushes a cushion off part of the way and uses the base as a step to the cushion. It is cute. Maggie is doing better with tummy time. She loves to laugh at this app that makes noises of animals and objects when you touch the picture of the object or animal. She is also sitting up really well in her entertainer. She also has been interacting more with Maxim such as reaching for him. She has held her bottle, when I give her one, and has tried to take her playmat with her when I take her off of it just like Max used to do. I think that's it for now.

Roasted Carrots

2lbs of baby carrots in a single layer on a cookie tray drizzle with olive oil, s&p, and veggie seasoning. Roast on 400 for 20minutes then drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar and a little more olive oil and roast another 5minutes. Super easy and delicious. 

421 We love and miss you Matthew. Stay Safe

The Adventures in Taking Christmas Photos

It took us two tries but we got some awesome photos thanks to our awesome photographer Bri Westfall. Check her out at HERE. If you remember she did our maternity and newborn photos. She was offering Christmas mini sessions where it was 20minutes sessions with 15photos at a discounted price so we jumped on the chance. Matthew is out protecting our country so it was just me and the kids.

We went bright and early to the location and the kids were dressed in their christmas outfits and looked so cute. Maggie even had a great big bow. However, Maxim was not having it. Luckily I planned for this and dressed so I could be in pictures. Bri did manage to get some photos of him though she got quite of few of him eating graham crackers because other wise he bawled. He eventually warmed up to climb in and out of her multiple chairs though never long enough to pose Maggie with him. She kindly offered us the opportunity to come back the following weekend so we did.

The second time I put them in their christmas pjs in hopes that Max would be more comfortable and not cry. I also dressed so I could be in pictures once again. Max wouldn't let us pose him with Maggie but we did get some cute shots of Maggie sitting in a chair and Max handing her ornaments.

Also we got way more than 15photos. I can't stress enough how awesome this photographer is. If you'd like to see the photos go to her website and type the password lippertchristmas.  We have already booked Maggie's 1 yr photos with her and plan on booking a family christmas session with the 4 of us.

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Double Well Baby Visits

So I took both kids for their well baby visits today. Maggie for her 4month and Maxim for his 18month.

Maxim is now 22lb and 1.5oz. Sorry I forget how long. What a bad mom! He got two shots: Flu and Hep A.  He started crying as soon as we went into the vitals room. I don't know what is with him lately. We went for pictures and he wouldn't take pictures and he loves the camera. Anyway take 2 for pictures is next weekend. His rash was looked at and since taking out acidic foods like tomatoes it has cleared up. However, she said the remaining spots are probably scaring which makes me sad that he is scared from his rash. Hopefully it fades in time.

Maggie was a big trooper she is 10lbs 6.5 oz and 23" long. To compare Max was 10lbs 5oz and 24" long at his 4month well baby. Maggie had 3 shots and an oral vaccine. She was a trooper for all of this. She even had to get reweighed after we went to pharmacy because when the Pediatrician was looking over her chart again something seemed off. However, when she was reweighed and remeasured it turned out everything was fine. Developmentally she is doing great and should start solids at 6months. Though she has a flat spot on the left side of her head which is weird because she sleeps on her right side so I can't explain that one.

We had a great day with Daddy yesterday and will miss him dearly. We love him and are proud of him.

Halloween and general updates

Sorry no pictures of Halloween. I do have them they are just still on the camera. Maggie was a ladybug though she actually slept through trick or treating so she only wore her costume for the Scarecrow Stroll and her 3month pictures. Maxim was a shark. He thought it was fun to play with the candy. When he would see someone coming he would put his hand out with candy in it but by the time they got to the door he had put the candy back in the bucket.
So I don't know if this was discussed in my last blog post but we are keeping a food/poop diary for Max. Basically we are sick and tired of this constant diaper rash. Sometimes he poops and instant open sores. Makes no sense to us except for some kind of mild food allergy and maybe once he is potty trained we can add the food back in the diet. We have tried disposables with prescription creams and that doesn't help it is still a battle. So though we love our cloth diapers we would have stopped on him if that meant he had no more diaper rash. So far we have cut out yogurt and that does seem to help. Matthew and I can't see a pattern from the log but maybe his dr will. It would be nice if the poop came labeled.
Speaking of doctors I get to bring both kids for well baby visits in about a week. I've been lucky so far that Matthew has been able to be there for every dr's appointment since moving to GA but this time he won't be able to join but it's Maxim's 18month well baby and Maggie's 4month well baby. I will post weight and length updates when that happens.
Our calendar we use is a custom one from Shutterfly and so November has pictures of Max leaving the hospital and his Thanksgiving meal. So it is a constant reminder of  those scary 4days where we were told our happy little boy was starving and people threatened CPS on us. I am constantly worried about Maggie's weight and will until we make it to the 6month well baby without any ordeal. Though unlike Maxim, Maggie knows what she wants and isn't happy until she gets it. So I think Maggie would let us know if she wasn't satisfied whereas Maxim was more go with the flow and never really complained or cried.

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