Nothing Better!

I have decided there is nothing better than 2 boys and beautiful weather. We have had temperatures in the 90s since the weekend. I had hoped to post last week but did not have the chance. Things have been crazy.

Austin has started T ball and is quite the hoot! 4 year olds swinging bats can be a little scary at times. They are all so cute and he really loves it. We were surprised at how fast he has blended with the other kids. Shane is acting as assistant coach and Austin is going between the groups at practice without difficulty. We were scared he would be clingy. He also enjoys cheering on his teammates. Since the weather has been nice, he has gone to play golf 2 times and wants to play outside almost every day. He has more energy than I think I would even know what to do with.

T ball practice - stretching, fielding and hitting

Caleb likes it outside too. He has enjoyed his stroller rides and swing on the swing set. Last week he had his 6 month well check. Beefcake now weighs in at 17 pounds 8 ounces and is over 26 inches long. His attempts to sit up are becoming much more successful. Last weekend, he actually showed us that he can sit up for about 15 seconds before finally toppling over. He continues to limit his bottle intake at times but they think that is due to the reflux. He will usually take the bottles for me once we get home at night. He will eat food from a spoon from whoever places it close to his mouth! We are still waiting for his first tooth but continue to think it will show up at any time due to the crankiness and constant drool!

Caleb's New Favorite Game:

Where's the baby?

There he is!!

Caleb's first attempts at sitting...

Did not last long and ended like this! (no babies were injured!!)

On a more serious note, my grandmother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about a month or so ago. She went in for surgery last Tuesday and has had good and bad days since. Yesterday, they decided that she must have a bowel perforation and took her back to surgery last night (as per her decision). I immediately went to Greenville to be with my dad. Things went well but she is very sick and still on the ventilator this afternoon. We can only hope for the best over the next 48 hours. Please keep the entire family in your prayers.

Last, I went and had the boys' pictures made on Saturday afternoon. They turned out great! If you are in the Cary or Greenville area, I cannot say enough good things about Portrait Innovations. They rock! My sister went today to get Carter's pictures taken and said the studio in Greenville did an awesome job as well. Until next time.....

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone has had a great Easter! Our morning was not how I envisioned it should be as Austin arrived at our bed carrying his new Wii game in hand and already wearing the new flip flops the Easter Bunny had left! We did not talk to him much about the bunny last night since he had made it clear that that thing was not to come into his house. When he got to the bed I asked him did he know who the gifts were from and he said no. After I explained that the Easter Bunny left them, he just said ok and went about his business. No questions asked.

The boys and I spent the last 2 days in Greenville with my family and getting to see the new baby. Austin thinks he is pretty cool and can't seem to remember that Caleb was once a little baby too! He held the baby a couple of times and sat for longer than I thought he would. He tried so hard to make him smile and laugh and just doesn't understand that he won't do those things yet. Carter is very cute and seems to be a good baby. We tried to get good pictures of the three of them but you can see that Caleb was just basically laying there wanting the commotion to die down.

Caleb had his first stomach virus and vomited every day for 5 days. After 2 days of being "well," he screamed his head off at day care for 2 hours straight only to find that he had his first ear infection. We are hoping that this is not the trend but he continues to be stuffy sounding every day. He is enjoying his food and is starting to get into the fruits. Once he starts eating good, he doesn't want to stop. He is laughing and smiling all the time.

Austin should be starting tee ball soon. We are just waiting for the coach to call. He is so excited. We went to the Holly Springs free for all Easter Egg Hunt and he was happy with the eggs he got. They also had one at school and he seemed to have a good time. He continues to love Wii bowling where he scored 279 tonight. For those of you who aren't familiar, that means he got strikes for every frame but one where he got 9 the first time and got the spare! He is better than me!

We are hoping to get more pictures once the weather gets warmer. We have had several warm days but then go back to cold again. Hopefully, things will stay warm soon. Until next time.....

Our First Look!

Here is our first look at Carter without the tubes of the NICU. This was taken from Grandpa's phone. We will get more pictures soon!

Way to go!

After 2 1/2 days in the NICU, Carter and mommy went home from the hospital today! Yesterday we got a report in the early morning that he had been weaned to 25% oxygen and by lunch I got calls that he was off of the oxygen and that his parents and grandparents had been able to hold him. It sure was a proud Nana and Grandpa when they called! He continued to do well through the day and night. After showing his true colors and eating like a champ, he was able to go home at the same time as his mom! We are very thankful that everything turned out like it did and hope he continues to do well.

We probably will not go to Greenville this weekend unless we go just for the day on Sunday. Caleb has encountered his first stomach virus we think. Last night he started vomiting and he easily could have had the staring role in the next Exorcist movie! It was absolutely horrible. After sleeping in the pack and play in our room, we thought he was in the clear but decided to resume the same this morning. It has been a tiresome day with lots of clothes to wash. We are trying to make sure no one else gets sick. Here's hoping you and your family stay well. (They are saying that the peak of flu season may still be a week or so away!)

Welcome Baby Carter!

Austin and Caleb would like to announce the arrival of their new cousin Carter! After only 4 1/2 hours of labor my sister Amy gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Weston "Carter" Phelps. He weighs 6 pounds 14 ounces and is 19 3/4 inches long. Mom is doing well but Carter has decided to buck the system from the beginning. He is in the NICU at the hospital in Greenville due to some breathing difficulties. At last report tonight, he is doing well. He is on oxygen and is slightly sedated due to wanting to fight a little too much. They believe that he may have had some meconium aspiration (inhaled some of his own poop) and they are watching him closely. We have not been able to see him just yet (Austin, Caleb and I made a quick trip to Greenville this afternoon), but from the pictures we have seen, he has a head full of black hair and is quite the little screamer in the video. Please keep baby Carter and his mom and dad in your prayers. We will get pictures as soon as we can visit again and will post again with any changes.

It's been a while!

So things have gotten somewhat crazy around our house and the blog has been on the back burner. Having 2 rugrats just seems to consume every hour of the day (and night to be exact)! Once we get home at night it seems the time flies by. Since last time, there was another snow. That's right! 2 times in one year! This time things went a little more smoothly around the area and daycare wasn't even closed. Austin enjoyed seeing the snow again even though he did not get much playtime. Things with mom and dad still consist of all work and very little play unless of course one of the boys does something fun and we tag along!

Austin is continuing to be a blossoming 4 year old. Take that as you want to! He is learning to talk back and thinks he knows everything. We had our teacher conference at school and he is doing well. He has mastered all of the skills for the young 4 year old and is ready for Pre-K next year. His teacher claims that he is an angel on most days. I think we need her or some of these other people to come live with us and rub off on his behavior at home. He is very over protective of Caleb and does not want to leave him anywhere by himself. Usually he is good at helping to look out for the baby but has his moments there as well. We have signed him up for T-ball and that will start next month. Maybe that will release some pent up energy. He has enjoyed practicing with dad in the yard. Last weekend, he and dad went to a hockey game with some of our neighbors. He had a blast. It does not matter what sport it is, he will generally pay attention. It has become slightly annoying to dad though since Austin is constantly wanting to know the score, who is winning, who is losing, why the guy is falling down, etc. It is constant questioning the entire time he is watching. This has also caused him to become somewhat of a sports geek! He knows the names and numbers of all of the Carolina basketball players and knows the other teams by their mascot or school logo. He also gets a kick out of upsetting dad by claiming he is pulling for a team that he knows he is not supposed to like!!!

Caleb is growing right before our eyes. He is stilling giving us challenges with eating. He has days when he does not want to eat for daycare but definitely makes up for it when he gets home and has mommy time. He will take a bottle great for me but still does not really like cereal from a spoon. He has taken some peas and carrots but is temperamental. He also is not sleeping through the night yet. We have our fingers crossed and just know that one night he will surprise us! We are in the process of introducing formula and already have had to change due to what we perceive as fussiness possibly from the formula or its effects on his reflux. He had to go to the doctor last week due to not eating and questionable wheezing and weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds 10 ounces. I guess he is nutritionally sound despite the issues! He will now roll over if he is not feeling too lazy, likes being on his tummy, and tries to sit by himself. He will also give a good belly laugh every once in awhile. We got a new infant swing for the swingset and he enjoyed that on Sunday. He was actually content for more than 10 minutes in one place!

Well, I guess that is all that has been going on really. The frantic pace of daily life is enough to keep us occupied. We are looking forward to the summer and warmer days ahead.

Let it snow!

Today was one for the record books! We ended up with at least 6 inches of snow but in the "low" place on the back deck, it was 8 inches. It started before 1 AM (that is what time the first boy woke up in the middle of the night). By 3 AM, after making sure the oldest one was back to sleep and feeding the younger one, it was coming down hard. At 6AM, when we decided no one was going anywhere, you could barely see the street lights. That kept up until about 1PM. It has not snowed constantly like that here in a long time.

Of course, every kid in the neighborhood was outside. Austin and dad were right there with them. We have several houses with hills in the front yard so sledding was quite an adventure. Caleb did not have as much fun. Despite being totally bundled up and having his hat over his eyes most of the time, he slept! He only woke up to tell us it was time to come in and eat.

The past few weeks have been interesting. Going back to work was not as bad as it could have been. We definitely strive off of our routine. Trying to get Caleb into that routine was fairly easy. Eating is the only varying activity each morning. Caleb is also doing well at daycare. He has started taking the full bottle and is starting to have a napping schedule. Sometimes we get to sleep through the night but 3:45 seems to be the magic time. I don't know how to make him sleep through that feeding. Sometimes (maybe 3 times a week), he will sleep until about 5:15. I will not complain at all though because this is much better than what Austin was doing at 3 months. I should also mention that he went to the doctor for a quick visit yesterday and with a dry diaper and thin outfit on, weighed in at 14 pounds 9 ounces. What do you do with a chunky monkey? It is getting hard to clean between the creases in his thighs at bath time! We will take what we have been given and be thankful. Everyone loves a fat baby, right?

Here's hoping you all can stay warm and safe if your weather is like ours. Until next time .....