8 Weeks Old

Michael Caden just turned 8 weeks old. He has been such a pleasure to have around. Although he doesn't do much right now, he has managed to turn our house upside down. Its been much more busy then I ever thought adding a child would be. Mckaley has been a great big sister, but she has also had her melt down moments with mom and dad. Nothing that wasn't expected though. Michael is very patient with her during those meltdowns, but more importantly he really seems to enjoy her company. He is very attentive to her always looking her way when she is in the room and no matter what, she can always make him smile. It is really very sweet. I think he is going to be looking up to her his whole life. Its amazing to watch the bond that they already have. As for Tyler and I, we are both exhausted and exhilarated every day with the two of them. Having Michael around has brought so many memories already for us. I thought I would share a few of his milestones with you guys.

Height: 24 inches (85%)

Weight: 13 pounds, 4 ounces (82%)

Immunizations: 5, yikes!!! He got all bright in the face and cried louder than I have ever heard him :( He quieted down pretty quickly after I picked him up though and then never seemed to complain about them again.

Milestones: slept for 5 hours straight one night, smiles, cooing like crazy, and is getting a little bit better with his head control

Below is a video with clips of Michael smiling and cooing. Enjoy!

I thought that I should mention that I did this video on our new FLIP Video that Marcia and Dave got us for Easter. This thing is SO cool and I can't wait to experiment more with it.

Best Easter shots ever. . .

Mckaley's Easter Egg hunt in a nutshell. . .

Mom, Dad, I think there is an egg over there in that palm tree!

I thought I saw one. Hmm, do you see it?
You do? Is it up there?
Are you fibbing me? I really don't see an egg.
(the look of total disappointment when there's no egg in the tree)
Okay, I'll try again Mom, but I really don't see it.
Wait, is that something purple and shiny I see?!
It is, quick-grab it and run!
Pure bliss!

Happy 4th Birthday Payton!

Payton Smith turned 4 and we went over to her house to celebrate with her! For those of you who don't know, Payton is one of Kim (Hansen) and Lamont Smith's girls. Kim is one of my closest friends out here in AZ. We have such a good time getting together and letting the girls play while we chat. Because Payton already had a family birthday party in Ca, Kim decided just to have Mckaley over for a princess pizza and ice cream party. It was such a nice night and I loved that it was a small get together. Most of the times those are the best ways to celebrate anyways. The girls dressed up as princesses, ate, and had the most amazing ice cream sundaes I have ever seen! Okay, maybe I was the one who had the most amazing sundae :-D Yummy! Here are some pictures of the night.

Isn't Payton just the most beautiful girl ever!? She is such a doll :)

My Yellow Fellow

So, Michael is yellow. Its official, he has jaundice. I always noticed a little bit of a yellow color to his skin, but I never really thought it was anything to worry about. Then I had a few signs that he was too yellow:

Sign #1: I took him out and other people started asking, "Does he look yellow to you?"

Sign #2: The whites of his eyes started looking a little yellow.

Sign #3: These pictures where his coloring is much different than Mckaley's:

So, I hate being one of those moms that overreacts and takes their kid into the doctor for every little thing, but I made the HUGE mistake of searching the internet about bilirubin levels. Turns out, he shouldn't be yellow at 5 weeks of age and there is the slight problem that if levels stay too high it could lead to mental retardation and cerebral palsy, just to name a few, slightly scary side effects. Yikes. After reading the articles, I made the apt and the doc confirmed that yes, he has jaundice. I had two options and that point.

Option 1- take him to the hospital and stick him with a bunch of needles to see how high the bilirubin levels are and why its not breaking down effectively

Option 2- I could stop breast feeding for 2-3 days and put him on formula to see if it is breast milk jaundice. Whatever the heck that is. Doctors apparently don't even know why breast milk jaundice occurs, but it does.

I chose Option 2 for obvious reasons. Although its better than option 1 I've got to tell you this schedule of: wake up in the middle of the night, make a bottle, warm a bottle, feed Michael (who hates the bottle and formula), try to get Michael to fall back asleep, pump to keep my milk supply up, freeze the milk and then go back to bed is HELL. It takes me over an hour to do all of this and I'm doing it three times a night!!! So, I'm now getting about 3-4 hours of sleep at the most. AHHHH- the things we do for our kiddos. Oh well it will be over soon and hopefully Mckaley and I won't be singing Yellow Fellow around the house much longer.

Saint Patrick's Day

For Saint Patrick's Day, we decided to have a picnic under the water tower in downtown Gilbert. My mom was in town, so she joined the Watson's and us. It was a beautiful day so the girls had a great time splashing and playing around in the fountains. The boys just chilled (as usual) and we all ate some yummy pizza and salad from Oregano's. It was a really nice way to spend the holiday.

These girls are trouble together. You give them an inch and they will take a mile. Just look at how playing gently in the water turned into a total mess:

It starts off small and innocent, then BAM! heads are in the water before we even have a chance to say no. haha

But they are pretty darn cute together :-)

Hi I'm Mckaley

Hi! This is Mckaley writing. I just wanted to let you know that, contrary to popular belief, my family has not forgotten about me since Michael Caden has been born. Here are some of the fun things I have gotten to do in the past month:

1. I still get to go to dance every Wednesday morning. I get to dress all fancy and hang out with all my best friends. The best part about dance is that mom hasn't been there to make sure I follow all the directions hee hee :-) Ms. Heather is super nice so even if I don't behave all the time, she still gives me lollipops at the end of class. Thanks Ms. Heather- you are the best!

2. When my Mimi and Pop-Pop were out in AZ visiting they took me to see Mary Poppins at the Gammage Theater. It was my first show ever and it was such a treat!!! I told Mimi that I wanted to dress fancy and when we got there they bought me a very special butterfly necklace to complete my outfit. I take everywhere with me. I even brought it to show 'n share at preschool and the kids loved it. During the Mary Poppins show all these great songs would come on and so I would stand up and dance to the music. I felt like I was on stage. It was SO much fun. Mimi and Pop-Pop thought it might be getting a little late, so at intermission they tried to leave early. Can you believe that!? I told them that there was more to the show and that I wanted to see it, so they let me stay. I was out until midnight, way past my curfew, but because I was with Mimi and Pop-Pop my mom and dad didn't mind. Thanks for the great memory Mimi and Pop-Pop!
3. Every Saturday morning dad takes me to sports class. I am the only girl with about 7 other boys in the class, but that's okay because I love going. So far we have done basketball and soccer and I can't wait to play hockey. Dad gets me up and dressed for class every morning, but mom has to come and do my hair before I leave. I always tell her that I don't want to wear my hair up and that it looks fine down, but mom and dad insist that girls DO NOT wear their hair down when they play sports. So, I complain a little bit, but then I let her put pig tails or a pony tail in. I ALWAYS wear a bow though-that is a must in my book. 4. Since Michael Caden has been born I get to watch more shows on TV than I ever have before!! Mom says that I can only watch two shows a day, but most of the time I get more :-) I know its all because Mikey was born so thanks little guy!
5. All in all, having this little brother thing has been all right. I still get to do a ton of fun things and I get to play with the little guy everyday. I can't wait until he gets even bigger so we can play outside. Until then, I'll just look after him very carefully with mom and show him off to all my friends.

Hope everyone has a great day and I'll keep you updated on what I'm up to next month!

Love,

Mckaley Elizabeth

1 Month Old

Its hard for me to believe that its already been once month since Michael Caden was born. This month has certainly flown by. I have to say it is so great to have a baby around the house again. Some people really do not like the baby stage, but I love it. I loved it with Mckaley and I love it just as much with this little guy. Michael is such a cuddle bug so I get to snuggle with him any time I want :) He is also a pretty content baby so he has made the adjustment of having another one very easy. Don't get me wrong, life is craaaaazy with two kids around, but its a fun crazy. He hasn't had any huge milestones, but he is starting to sleep for a little bit longer at a time (around 2.5 hours now) which gives me some hope for the future. I'm also getting out of the house a bit more which is great as well. I feel like I'm getting back into the real world-haha!

Anyhow, here are some pics of the bday boy on his 1 month bday. . .

As you can tell from the picture, he's not such a little guy. He was born 7lbs 14 ounces then dropped to 7 lbs 3 ounces in the hospital. At his one week apt (where they like babies to get back up to birth weight) he was 9 lbs 4 ounces!!! Who knows what he weighs now, but from the feel of his carseat carrier, its got to be somewhere around 11 lbs. Geez big fella.

You can't really tell from the picture, but he LOVES his swing. I love it too! haha gives me a nice break for sure.

His first bath. Mckaley helped wash him up. She is still loving every moment of being a big sister and it just melts my heart to watch her interact with him. You are the best M!