We've Survived!!!!!

We've survived our first week by ourselves. Troy's mom and Grandma left last Saturday so we've spent this past week adjusting to being a family of four. Luckily, Troy took Monday and Tuesday off of work to help me out. I didn't think it was wise to just throw me into the pool all at once. Connor had his 10 day dr. appointment on Tuesday. At his 2 day appointment, he weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. A week later he tipped the scales at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and that's even after he laid a load of pee and poo on the scale. The rest of the stats are:
Weight: 8 lbs. 6 oz. (50%)
Height: 20 3/4" (75%)
Head: 14" (50%)

His bilirubin count went down so he's starting to look less yellow. People have commented that Connor looks tan. I just attribute it to the extra red blood cells. Troy went to work Wednesday and Thursday but after I had taken a shower and gotten ready for the day. Friday I was all by myself and I have to say everything went off without a hitch. I was showered and ready to go by 8!!!! I even made to storytime Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on time too. Go me!!!!!

Connor has been great so far. All he does is eat, sleep, and poop. We rarely see his eyes open but that makes for great sleeping at night. He can go up to 4 1/2 hours between feedings during the night so I don't feel like I'm missing too much sleep. He's also a great eater which means we're done within 20-30 minutes. Enough for me to catch a rerun of Friends then head back to bed.

The cats seems to tolerate having a new member in the family. They generally ignore Connor but the definitely enjoy having his blankets around to sleep on.

Squishy's still unsure about having Connor around but I think she'll warm up to him soon.

Brooke enjoys having Connor around too. She shows concern when he's upset and crying and is always ready and willing to give him his pacifier. The big thing Troy and I have noticed with adjusting to being a family of 4 is that Brooke is little more sensitive when she's doing something wrong. She doesn't flat out cry but her eyes will get really big and her bottom lip will start to quiver and if a tear were to fall, it would be a great, big crocodile tear. I think she's handled the change pretty well though.

One of Connor's favorite places to be is nestled in someone's arms.

We headed up to Jonathan's last night so he could meet his favorite, new nephew.

He made us a delicious dinner and Brooke enjoyed having some extra attention from Coco.

We like to teach our children young how to fold their arms. I think Connor does a pretty solid job.

In other news (as if you really want to know), Troy was released from his calling as Elder's Quorum President. If you recall, Troy was called to be the EQ president a week after Brooke was born. He probably would have been called to that position sooner (as in Sunday) if I had gone to church 3 days after having Brooke. He had kept that calling until the Sunday after Connor came. That Sunday afternoon the 2nd counselor in the bishopric came to meet us at home. I kind of thought it was just to see Connor but I had a fishy, fishy feeling that there was an ulterior motive. Well, I was right. Troy has a new calling...he's now the 2nd counselor in the Young Men's presidency. I'll be honest. I cried. Call me selfish but I don't want to give Troy up on a weekday. Anywho, I'm done crying and I think this calling will be good for all of us. I just think it's funny that every time we have a child, Troy gets himself a new calling. We've vowed that the next time we have a kid we're not saying anything to anyone. No one will notice, right?!?!?!?!

We're Alive (Beware: Pic Overload)

Connor and I decided to take the hospital up on its offer to stay the full 48 hours. Recovery this time has been much easier than with Brooke but it was still nice to be able to send Connor to the nursery in the evening so I could get some sleep. Brooke and Troy came to visit both days and I think Brooke warmed up to Connor.We left the hospital on Saturday. Connor wasn't a fan of being changed out of hospital clothes but quickly settled into the car seat.Anybody else notice the similarities????Never mind the gut. I just think Brooke looks pretty cute. She's probably just glad to get out of the hospital. I know that I was definitely ready.Once we got home, the cats definitely needed to check things out. Lexie just walked up to the carseat, took a sniff, and walked on. Squishy on the other hand was very curious. After taking Connor out of his seat, Squishy immediately made herself at home in it.Same with the swing.This is after a few days of adjusting to having a baby around. Poor Squishy has a rough life.Like Troy mentioned, Thursday we got a healthy dose of snow in the morning. The Denver area only got rain but the news people mentioned that had it been snow, we would have seen 16 inches. Thankfully we're into May and the snow doesn't stick around for long. Saturday, after we got home, it decided to snow some more. Within minutes, the grass was covered with big, fat flakes. It was pretty cool to watch.Grandma Ware and Grandma Burt arrived Saturday to spend the week with us. They have been a huge help and I know that Brooke is glad to have them around. Not sure what I'm going to do when they head home this Saturday.Connor wasn't a fan of his first bath. I'm not sure there are any newborns that really enjoy being bathed.But once it was over, he was a happy camper. I love how fuzzy their hair gets after a bath.Brooke wanted in on the action too.Connor had his first doctor's visit yesterday. Leaving the hospital, he weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. His weight hasn't changed but the doc wasn't too concerned about it. He was concerned about his bilirubin count and suggested that Connor should get himself his first tan. We go back in tomorrow to get his blood tested again to make sure that his count is going down instead of up.

It seems that within this last week, we have only seen Connor's eyes a small handful of times. He spends most of his days sleeping and pooping.

Although I was able to catch a rare moment where Connor was wide awake and alert...at 1:00 in the morning.

All in all, I think we're adjusting fairly well to being a family of four. Obviously, Brooke has taken a little longer to come around but I think she'll do fine. We love having Connor in our family and I'm excited to see what new adventures he'll bring.

Connor Edward Ware

Wednesday night we dropped Brooke off at a friend's house in anticipation of Tracie's scheduled induction the next morning. Here are the events of Thursday, May 12.
Here's Tracie before taking off to the hospital (brief detour at IHOP on the way).

Second week of May, so why wouldn't it be snowing? And it snowed pretty much all morning at our house and the hospital. It did stop at about noon, only to rain all afternoon. We'll take the two inches of precipitation.

Water broken at 9, pitocin at 11, epidural at noon. How do you fill the down time while we wait? Words with friends. (Pregnant brain is gone, Tracie has dominated the last couple of days)

It was all pretty chill until about 3:45, when they were concerned about his heart rate on the contractions. They put a monitor on the top of his head, added some more amniotic fluid, and called for the doctor shortly there after. When the doctor got up there at about 4:15, she said, let's have a baby. Three sets of pushes later, he was out.

He was born at 4:25 pm, 7 pounds 12 ounces, 20 inches tall, 13 3/4 inch head. He was apparently sucking his tongue on the way out and it got a little tight on the way out and the bottom of his tongue was bruised. Good to know it doesn't affect his smile.

Getting his first bath, loved the head scrub.

Brooke came over later in the evening. She walked in the front doors of the hospital and asked, "Where's my baby brother?" Once she got to the room she was a little shy.

Maybe I'll just touch him lightly...

... and an hour later she's finally ready to hold him.

I think she will be a great older sister.

Mother's Day Surprise?

Instead of focusing on what didn't happen today, let us reflect on how many blessings we currently have, namely a loving mother and wife who heads this great family.

Mom and Dad are anxious to meet our son, but I think Brooke is enjoying her last few days of being the sole focus of our attention. She is tapping her creativity.

and she is preparing to sleep where she can once her brother starts waking up at all hours of the night!

On Saturday we went to Dim Sum, and it was really nice. That was really the last thing that we had scheduled, so anytime now little buddy...

Now a couple of close-ups of Brooke and her singing. Between choir practice at our house, church, and Tangled, Brooke is really starting to sing a lot more. I think she is pretty decent.

T minus 11 days (or less)

The light at the end of the tunnel is finally almost here and I'm so ready for it to be!!! Before our little guy decides to come, I've been trying to get in as much Brooke time as possible. Last week, the weather went from one extreme to another but luckily we were able to go out and enjoy the 2 days of niceness before the cold came back.Going to the park is a win/win for the both of us. It starts some contractions for me and uses Brooke's energy so she'll take a good nap in the afternoon. She is getting more brave and independent about climbing things. Now if only I could teach her how to swing herself.

Lastly, the kitties have been soaking up this big 'ol belly of mine. Lexie seems like she can't get enough and would definitely prefer to lay on the belly as opposed to the side or on my legs like Squishy. I'm sure they'll be so sad once the buddha belly is gone.
Here's to hoping that this time next week you'll be seeing pics of our new addition.

Look at what the Easter Bunny brought

A lovely hospital gown from Aunt Kristin. It will be nice for Tracie to receive guests post baby in style. Thanks Kristin!

Tracie's parents came out on Wednesday night and left Saturday morning. We had a lot of fun with then, and Brooke especially loved all of the extra attention. We had so much fun in fact, that the only picture we took was the one of Joanna receiving a lot of help from Brooke and Squishy.

Brooke got her first hair cut (besides her bangs).

We were getting ready to do Little Jimmer's first load of laundry. Squishy had other plans for the pile.

Apparently, Glendale, where my office is, has a rugby club. A few of us from work went to a game on Saturday night. It was pretty entertaining. Brooke enjoyed the pizza, lemonade, and the cowbell that she rang incessantly.

Naturally on Easter morning, we woke up to snow. This time of year it melts by 10 am, but the moisture was needed.

After naptime on Sunday, came the Easter Egg hunt.

She liked it so much that she's hid her eggs herself the rest of the night. And all day today...

By this morning she also learned how to open the eggs, so while Mom was taking a shower, she enjoyed a delicious and nutritious breakfast of jelly beans.

We also dyed eggs. Brooke's favorite part was playing with the small metal egg holder.