The Down-side of Being the First Born Child

Paul is away in Utah for the weekend taking care of some business we didn't get to before we left. Don't feel too sorry for him... he got to play football and go to a Real Salt Lake game- he's all right. Anyway, Abby wanted to play on the computer but I had a couple of things to do first and the babies needed feeding before that so she offered to feed the babies while I finished up so she could get on sooner. She soon regretted that offer... She really is a big help and her baby brother and sister just adore her. She can get them to smile when no one else can. We love you, Abby!!!

How was your morning?

Here is Lily kicking Liam in the head. Just before this, Liam had been gnawing on her feet.
Abby's Room... guess what she's doing all day? Her response- crying, of course: "But it's going to be a BORING day! I HATE boring days! I like FUN days!"
Here is Liam right after I had just changed and fed him. It was the grossest clean-up so far. It was all over his high chair, leg, back, etc. This was, of course, followed by a bath while Abby looked after Lily which led to half of her toys being brought out to the living room in my absence.
Still, I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world. This morning, we were all at the breakfast table; Abby was playing a game on the back of the cereal box, Lily was sitting on my lap and I was feeding her a bottle with one hand while feeding Liam in his high chair with the other and then we all took a bite of the strained pears baby food and laughed and I thought my life really couldn't get much better. Then Liam blasted his pants.

Here is a freshly bathed Liam sleeping, Lily screaming and Abby trying to make it all better. All in a morning's work!

Liam's Hospital Stay and Lily's BIG Secret

Thursday, both babies, who had been struggling with Abby's Easter cold, both became feverish and lethargic so we brought them to the ER. Lily's illness was mostly in her head so she was eventually sent home with antibiotics but Liam was diagnosed with pneumonia. There have been so many cases of it that I know of so I guess it was our turn. His chest was so wheezy and his little voice so diminished. He started feeling much better the next day and really enjoyed the attention of all the nurses. He batted his eyelashes and smiled and flirted and everyone just loved him. But it was really sad to see him hooked up to all the monitors and I think there is nothing sadder than a baby with an IV. Paul and I had experience holding babies with tubes and wires thanks to Lily in the NICU but it was still hard. He was the perfect little patient who got progressively better until he was released today.
You may, at this point, be feeling really sorry for me, his mother, for having to spend every night by his side at the hospital. Well, don't. Really. Let's just say, that it was pretty relaxing just dealing with only one baby... one who sleeps
through the night. And I got to sleep in the same room in a special bed designed for patients to prevent bed sores, so it was extremely comfortable. It was like a spa vacation only I had to go to Kim's house to shower. I actually got to READ! As in, a BOOK! Now Paul and my parents on the other hand... You can feel sorry for them. My parents kept the girls when they could and Lily- well, remember how I have been calling her our easiest baby ever? She has been the fussiest lately and she has the meanest little stare and she knows how to use it. She also has been sleeping really poorly in the night. Poor Paul. Abby has been having fun with my parents but her hearing problem has gotten progressively worse. Her hearing is so bad that we are having to tell her the same things upwards of 5 times before we are even acknowledged. If one were to whisper "My Little Pony" she could hear it from miles away. It is a fairly common hearing problem I think nearly every child experiences that becomes even worse, I hear, during the teenage years... can't wait. So, we bring everyone home today and Lily was fussing and gnawing her little hand off as usual when Paul discovered something.

Look closely at our little girl...
Closer...
Even closer...Can you see 2 bottom teeth in that cute little mouth? In the past few days while we have been concentrating on Liam, Lily sprouted her first 2 teeth at the same time. Poor girl, no wonder she was so fussy.

What Happens When Abby is in Charge

Room for Two

Here are pictures of the nursery. See if you can spot two little smiling faces peering out...
There wasn't too much to do as far as paint and decor. There was a really ugly, weird-height shelf that was taken down, but it was pretty move-in ready besides that. Lily and Liam are sleeping pretty well now... some days are definitely better than others but for the most part, they each get up at about 3:00 and then again at about 8 or so. Not everyday, but most days. We had to separate them because Liam kept turning and kicking Lily in the head in the middle of the night. Sometimes I still let them nap together. It is nice to have them out of our closet, that's for sure. You can now put down your phones as calling CPS is unnecessary. I made the name signs after I saw this one at Land of Nod for way too much money. I was able to use the font and colours I like from paper I already had and I think they turned out pretty well. The darling bedding and Lily's crib are all thanks to my AWESOME friend, Dawn. THANK YOU DAWN!!! The cute pillows were made by my WONDERFUL friend, Cheri. She just guessed at the colors and they couldn't match more perfectly. THANK YOU, CHERI! Eventually (hopefully soon), I want to put a big, cute shelf over the top of the closet and there is a frame that I want to hang by Lily's bed, but I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out.

Lily's First Food

So, today was Lily's first solid food experience and she did so well! At first, she wasn't sure she liked it, but after a few bites, she decided she did and even started to open her mouth on her own.

She wasn't so sure about things when her sister took over feeding duties.
All in all a great effort. We are so proud of her. Great job, Lily!

Hey Mikey, He Likes It!

Here is Liam eating solid food for the very first time... nappy-time will never be the same. He has been showing signs of needing more than just formula to drink for a while... like never being really satiated, gnawing on his sister between feedings, etc... so, yesterday, we gave him his first solid food. Just rice cereal, of course, and do you care to guess how he liked it? It was just what he needed. We are going to wait to start Lily until she is 6 months old as per the doctor's recommendation, but Liam was obviously more than ready.



By the way, how jealous am I of his long, dark eyelashes. It's a good thing he has them, really... what with him being our fussiest baby and all. All in all, great job, Liam!Oh, and since we didn't have a blog when Abby was a wee baby, here are some shots of her first taste of solid food. She was only 4 months at the time and didn't really take to it until she was more like 7 months. I think she looked a lot like Lily does now.