Week 22 and Words

Dear Conor and Apple,

Conor you are growing and growing and growing!  Daddy and I talked and its time to get another set of pictures done because you have changed so much.  You now have seven teeth and there are three more popping through and one more showing its ugly little white mountain head!  Your vocabulary continues to grow and grow!  You now say PLEASE, Muffin, more, book, read, rice, truck, knee, bubble, Sarah and boat.

You have also developed a HUGE attachment to mom's old cabbage patch kid Clinton.  He has sat on your shelf since the day you came home from the hospital.  In the last two weeks you have taken notice of him and made requests to hold him and kiss him and that progressed to sleeping with him.  Now you are inseparable and he comes downstairs with you in the morning and goes back upstairs with you at night.  He sits with us when we nurse for bed and you seek him out several times a day.

Sleep has been coming much easier.  You now have a set bedtime that Daddy and I work hard to have you stick to.  At 5:45 we start getting ready for bed with jammies, tooth brushing, and stories.  I take you upstairs no later than 6:15, we nurse for less than 10 minutes and then I put you in your crib and you play with Clinton for a few minutes until you go to sleep.  Often times I have peeked in on you and you are sleeping with your head on Clinton or the two of you are in the same position. 

The last few days you have also started napping in your crib which is a HUGE first!  We started by having you nap on the bed in my office and then transitioned you to the crib.  Its now been 4 days of crib naps and you have slept at least an hour each time. 

Now - you have been growing so much its like you are getting ready to be a BIG brother!  And.....two weeks ago we found out that you are going to have a little BROTHER!!!!  Yup, that's right!  Mommy gets to be Mommy to TWO little boys!  Mommy and Daddy are very excited and we can't wait to see how the two of you are different and how you are alike.

So, now its time to pick a name for your little brother...and its going to be a lot harder this time around because it wasn't even easy to come up with your name :)!

Mommy is feeling pretty good but your little brother is very active and doesn't let Mommy get a lot of rest during the day or at night.  But, we are half way there and summer is going to be gone before we know it and then it will be almost time to meet your brother :)

Stink Face

Mommy and Little Brother at 22 weeks

Mommy and her boys

You have also started identifying body parts and you love to do so on Mommy and Daddy.  So far you know eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, chin, knees, feet, toes, hands, fingers, bum, penis, belly, belly button, chest, head and hair!  Here you are pointing out Daddy's chin!

Daddy and Conor

We love you little man!

xoxo
Mommy

Gender Party Pictures

Dear Avacado,

As mentioned in the previous post - here are some pictures from your first party

These are your cupcakes.  A select few were filled with blue frosting and as you can see - they were sprinkled both pink and blue so no one would know until it was time!

This is Sophie - she had been guessing that you were a boy but she wore pink today because its her favorite color so I told her she was Team Pink for the day.

Great Grandma Irene - it was very hot and so she spent most of the time in the shade near the drink containers.  Hunter enjoyed spending time under her chair where it was both cool and shady.

A not so great picture of Ana and I!  Gordon V is due in October and you are due in December - it is our hope that you two boys will be very good playmates and friends!  That's Justin and Baby Ryan in the background.  I hope that you and Ryan will also be very good friends because he will only be about 6 months older than you!

Here's Auntie Cathlin after the party relaxing.  She has proclaimed herself your literary guide through life - we will have to see how that works itself out as you get older!

And this is Josh and Big Brother Hunter relaxing on the deck!

And lastly - Jill and baby Ryan again.  Ryan is hanging out in the Moby Wrap - I think we are going to get you one of these for those days when you want to go to the grocery store or the mall with me and we don't want to bring your stroller.

I didn't get a picture of anyone else but everyone at your party had a great time and they are all very excited to meet you!

xoxo
Erin

Week 19

Dear Avacado,

This past week was a very busy week for the both of us!  It was so busy that I am going to give you a play-by-play:

Monday, July 11
The day started out normal, we went to work and got a few things done at Court and then it was time to take a trip to the Cape to pick up Aunt Danielle.  We got to the Cape and did some more work at Grandma Mary's (we organized pictures on my computer) and then it was time to pick Aunt Danielle up from work (we also got an ice cream!)  The drive back to Maine was pretty fun but since we got home late we went to bed pretty early. 

Tuesday, July 12
Today we got up pretty early because we had to go to the doctor's office in Portland in order to have the anatomy scan done.  The wait was long (they were running almost an hour behind) and the lady who did the scanning didn't have the best bedside manner (she wasn't very friendly and didn't explain much of what she was doing) but we did get to see various parts of you (your hands, feet, face) and you stayed still enough that we were able to tell what you were!  Josh was team pink and Aunt Danielle and I were team blue.  We all took a deep breath and then learned that you are a BOY!

That afternoon we went shopping and I made the first clothing purchase.  Your first outfit was purchased at the Carter's Outlet in Freeport, Maine.  It is a navy blue newborn sized pajama (with feet) with little while outlines of elephants on it.  There is also a little gray elephant patch sewn on above a patch that says "I love Mommy".  I also bought you some no-scratch mittens that matched.  Here is a picture of your first outfit and a close-up of the little patch.

Wednesday, July 13
You and I worked a lot today.  While we worked Josh and Hunter drove Auntie Danielle back down to the Cape.  They got back late (after we had already been home and taken a nap!).  We were all very tired from the adventures the day before and the fact that it was so hot Tuesday night that no one got that much sleep.  So, we went to bed early!

Thursday, July 14
Today we shared with Grandma Janet and Grandma Mary that you were going to be a BOY!  They were both very excited to hear that and Grandma Mary couldn't want to tell me that she couldn't wait to get you your own RED SOX hat!  Other than that it was just a regular work day!

Friday, July 15
My 31st birthday morning was spent at the doctor's office just checking in on weight gain and checking measurements.  Since my last doctor's appointment I gained 8.5 pounds which is a perfect weight gain for this period of time I was told and because of that you and I are both measuring perfect!  Our next doctor's appointment for check-ups will be in August. 

I did not expect to be pregnant on my 31st birthday but I will say that I am very happy that I am because I am looking forward to being your mom and spending all future birthdays with you!

Saturday, July 16
Today we had a party in order to celebrate my birthday and make the announcement to all our friends and families that you were a little boy.  The party started at 1pm and I asked everyone to come wearing a shirt in the color of the gender they thought you were.  Here is the breakdown:

Team Blue: Auntie Cathlin, Jarrod, Grandma Janet, Kelly, Grandpa Tom, Ryan & Justin Fillip, Ana
Team Pink: Grandpa Dennis, Great-Grandma Irene, Aunt Kris, Beth, Sophie Fillip
Unclear: Uncle Justin (he wore black/orange) and Jill (she wore khaki)

We broke the news by having Grandpa Tom break open a cupcake that I had filled with blue frosting in front of everyone.  Grandpa Tom was very excited as was everyone else (even those on Team Pink).  Your party was a lot of fun and you received many gifts (I will put these in another post). 

By the time everyone left Josh, Hunter, and I were exhausted so we ended up just watching a movie on TV and going to bed.

Sunday, July 17
Today you went to your first movie.  We saw Transformers - The Dark Side of the Moon.

So there is a recap of your very busy week!

xoxo
Erin