My Cute Little Boys

Here are some random pictures of my cute little boys. Peter is doing much better with Rigby now. He gives him kisses frequently; he also insists upon undoing any snaps or zippers and pulling the tabs off Rigby's diaper when it is time for a change.

I discovered this in the bathroom the other day. I guess Peter was trying to potty train "G" (Peter's name for Curious George). Don't worry, unfortunately NOTHING has been deposited in it by Peter.

As we were pulling Peter's shirt off to get his pajamas on, we found my hair ties on his arms. He had not been in our bathroom since that morning, so I guess he had them on all day under his shirt. He looks like a little Indian.

Here is our little handyman. When Scott goes to do a home improvement project, Peter can barely contain his excitement. He does a little manly grunt (like on the show Home Improvement) as he runs to help daddy.

I wish upon everyone a baby like Rigby. He has the sweetest disposition. I don't even mind the excessive spit up and poopy diaper issues because he is so content.

Family Update

Peter has been having a lot of fun lately. He helped us to run down the battery of the van. While we were getting the stroller out of the trunk, he turned a light on that ended up staying on for the entire night. We know he is a button pusher, so I guess that is what we get for not checking things before we left.

A onesie around his neck and pants on his head-
he is probably not ready to dress himself yet.

He also did a little permanent marker art
on the computer desk and himself today.
Thankfully the marker came off easily with a damp rag.

He keeps pointing at the computer desk and
saying, "big no, no."
It is cute, but I cannot let him know that!

Here is my angel baby who is 6 weeks today.
I am sure his trying times are coming, but for now
I am loving that he is so GREAT.
He sleeps for a 4-5 hour stretch at night now!

Here are his 1 month stats (he was technically 5 weeks):
10 lbs. 10 oz. - 75%
21 1/2 in. - 55%
head circumference 25%

Scott and I are not as interesting as Peter and Rigby, but I had better document some stuff about us. Lately, I have been working on a quiet book (a felt book with activities to keep Peter quiet during church). We will put it to the test in a couple of weeks; hopefully I am not wasting my time!

Scottie has begun yard work again. He is not very excited about that, but we are loving the nice weather for evening walks. He has also been working on the computer lately. And just for future reference, he is always doing something with the computer (a wonderful skill that I am thankful for most of the time:). Well, that's about it!

On Being a Mom

I love being a mom. Today was GREAT! Peter was so helpful and sweet. Rigby slept last night and was so happy. I loved being with my boys today and the weather was beautiful, so we went on a walk to the park. I just wanted to write this after my semi-dismal post about Monday, so that when my boys look back at this they will know that I love them and I love what I am doing in life right now. I love you Rigby and Peter. I LOVE being your mom even on the bad days--it's just harder to remember!

We have survived one month!

Rigby was officially 1 month old on Monday, March 8th. He celebrated by pulling his first all nighter! NOT my idea of fun. Peter chose this little Winnie the Pooh Bear outfit for Rigby to wear that next day, and I thought it was very appropriate because he was such a little pooh the night before!
He did partially make it up to me by doing a really good belly laugh in his sleep and giving Scott and I a cute little smile while awake. I think it was just a smile of contentment and not a true social smile but still very exciting and cute.

Here is Peter in all of his tantrum glory that same day. Monday was not a very good day. By the time Scott came home Peter had screamed himself to sleep in the corner of the family room, Rigby was sleeping through all of the drama in my arms, and I was crying on the couch wishing that I was in Rigby's place at the moment. Thankfully today has been MUCH better.

Here are some more cute pictures of my boys:

Scott working Peter out of a tantrum.

My failed attempt at encouraging potty training.
He will hate me some day for putting this up,
but it was so cute I could not resist.

So cute!

A picture of Rigby before his first official bath.
He hated it and screamed the entire time.
He got us back by pooping in his clean towel afterward.

Other than taking care of the kids, Scott and I have been doing some home improvement projects. We bought and installed new outside lights and are in the process of replacing our eclectic blind collection. We have a different color of blind in every room--purple, tan, cream with rust, etc. So, we decided to replace them all with the white faux wood blinds from Home Depot. WOW, an expensive project, but it looks so much better now!

Our New Life

Well, Rigby has been easier to deal with than I anticipated. Peter, on the other hand, has been MUCH harder to handle than I thought. He is a full-fledged, tantrum throwing two-year old. AHHHHHH!!! These days I am convinced we are done having children, but I am sure I will eventually adjust and change my mind (not any time soon though:).

Rigby usually only wakes up to eat twice each night and then goes back to sleep immediately after eating. I had heard of such babies, but I never expected to get one! He is such a contented little boy; I LOVE it!

Here is my chubby little baby:

My only complaint is that he has at least 7 or 8 poopy diapers every day and is a bit of a slow/lazy eater. If he sleeps at night though, I can deal with those things.

Peter has been having a lot of fun with my mom these past couple of weeks. After practicing the alphabet with Scott the past several months and now with my mom, he can identify at least half of the upper case letters!
He is even smarter when it comes to throwing tantrums. I did not realize how much he had been manipulating us with these tantrums until Rigby was born. I think we are making progress though. Good thing the kid is so darn cute!

Here he is trying on Rigby's hat:

Here we are on a walk:

This is my way of keeping sane when I start going stir crazy at home. I LOVE my double stroller!

More Hospital Pictures

Here are some more pictures of Rigby and the family:

The only time Peter has cared to pay attention to Rigby is when he is pointing out his nose, eyes, ears, etc.

Peter refused to hold Rigby for a picture and wanted nothing to do with me when I was holding him. It was a miracle we got a picture this good.

My novel if you care to read it:

Rigby's arrival turned out very different than I expected. I began having bad cramps, stomach aches, and nausea throughout the weekend starting on Friday. Then, about 7:30 Sunday night some decent contractions began about 10-15 minutes apart. After an hour or two, they stopped; I thought, "False alarm." That night I continued to have the bad cramps like the previous two nights, so I did not think much of it.

About 7:15 Monday morning, the contractions started again at 10 minutes apart. I decided to take a shower and see how I felt after that. I discovered blood everywhere (sorry for the gory details), so I called Scott at work and said, "Come home. It's time to go to the hospital." While he was taking a cab home, I got Peter ready for my friend to pick up. Every time I leaned down and said, "Ouch, ouch, ouch," Peter laughed-thanks kido :).

Anyway, my friend and Scott showed up at 8:40, and then, Scott and I left in a hurry for the hospital. That is when things got really bad! In the van my contractions were coming less than 5 minutes apart, and I was yelling some not so good words. When we pulled up to the hospital at 9:05, I could not walk very far and there was not a single wheel chair in sight. So, while Scott and the hospital employees were rounding one up, I gradually drug myself into the lobby. Everyone was staring at me as I moaned and squirmed through each contraction. When I got to the room, the nurse said, "You are fully effaced and dilated." My reply was, "So does that mean I don't get an epidural?" YEP! No pain killers for me. I flipped out a little until the nurse told me I needed to calm down. The pushing began and 10-15 minutes later Rigby was born at 9:54-less than one hour after arriving at the hospital. I came way too close to delivering him at home or in the car for my comfort!

This was much different than Peter's 9 1/2 hour labor, 1 1/2 hours of pushing, and an epidural. The only similarity is that they both came early. Peter came 11 days early and Rigby came 7 days early (good boys!). Recovery has been GREAT without all of the epidural side effects. However, I don't know if I would have the nerve to go natural again if I had a choice; I am a complete wimp. Well, enough of this novel, I have a poopy diaper to change!

Rigby!

Rigby was born this morning at 9:54 AM CST. That is less than an hour after we got to the hospital (9:05 AM)! Rigby was 20.5 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 10 oz. Everything went well and now Rachel and Rigby are resting here are a few pictures that I took just after he was born. We'll put some more up later but for now, enjoy!