Happy Easter!

I had been planning, for days, a fun Easter photo shoot in the backyard with Calvin.  I had envisioned that he would happily don some bunny ears and hold a plastic egg all while showing off his biggest smiles for the camera.  Well, our photo shoot went a little something like this....

Our little guy was not having it!  Can't say I blame him.  The night was not completely wasted because we did get an awesome picture with Dad and a few with Mom, too.

Our little bunny has been under the weather for about a week.  He has had a pretty bad cold that just seemed to get worse and then he ended up with a very red and swollen left eye yesterday.  So, we started our Easter morning with a 7am visit to the Sunday Peds Clinic!  The doc confirmed that Calvin has a bad cold and a clogged tear duct.  We started some eye drops and hopefully he'll be feeling better really soon.

When we arrived home we joined the neighbors for a little Easter fun.  They loved showing us all their gifts and new bubble machine.  Reagan, the youngest, even got a little cuddle time in with Calvin.

Reagan and Kennedy, from next door, have given Calvin the nickname of Coco!  It is so cute to hear them yell, "HI, COCO!!" 

Calvin has spent much of the day sleeping, but I was able to sneak a few pictures between naps of his first Easter.

He went right for the toys. 

We hope everyone had a great day!

Love,

PAC

4 months

Happy 1/3 Birthday, Calvin James!

• Stats - 14 lbs 6 oz (50%tile) and 25 in long (50%tile).  This little guy likes to play it safe and keeps his stats just average.
• Sleep - Where does this tired Momma begin?!  Calvin has regressed in this area.  When Daddy was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, Calvin was waking 10-15 times per night and crying for his paci. We have decreased those trips to the nursery to about 5 per night for paci replacement and 2 trips for feedings.  Good thing he's cute! ;)
• Eat - Calvin is drinking about 5 oz of Momma's milk at each feeding.  We attempted cereal a couple of days ago.  See picture below to see how that went.  
• Doctor's Appointment - Calvin had his 4 month check-up on Friday where he continues to be an A+ patient.  We only had a couple of general questions for the doc and one of mine went a little like this, "Dr. McGhee, why doesn't my baby laugh?!"  The doctor looked at me and laughed.  Calvin is very social, smiles and babbles a lot and apparently he will laugh when he's ready!  I'm ready whenever he is!!  His appointment ended with 3 shots and a few tears. 
• What's New - Patrick and I were just talking today about how much more fun Calvin gets every single day.  The colicy crying has stopped and has been replaced by countless smiles.  We spend lots of time on the floor playing and peek-a-boo continues to be his favorite game.     

And now for your 4 month picture overload!

The weather in Vegas has been much warmer and this means more days with bare toes.  Calvin loves his feet and reaches for them as soon as you take his pajamas or socks off.

Bath time is still his favorite time!

Entertaining everyone outside of Olive Garden.  

Most babies use their ExerSuacer for play and entertainment.  Calvin uses his as a recliner for watching T.V. He sat like this for 15 minutes watching the news.  Like father, like son :)

Pre cereal.

You guessed it!  Post cereal.  We'll be waiting a few more days before trying cereal again.

A quick shot of Mom and Dad on date night :)

One more "first" for Calvin, that I forgot to mention, was his first night with a non-family babysitter!  Last weekend Patrick and I were able to go on our first date since November!  We were much overdue for a little adult time.  I was a nervous wreck leaving Calvin and even tried to convince Patrick that we should just grab some Dairy Queen and head back home.....3 minutes after leaving the house.  Once I got through dinner (and a couple glasses of wine),  I was able to enjoy the rest of our evening.  We definitely need to do that more often!

We Love Weekends

I am trying to make an effort to post more than once a month, but am not doing a very good job!  I TRY to spend very little time on the phone/computer when Calvin is awake.  I want to be present in his life.  When I do pick up my phone, Calvin's eyes are glued to the screen!  He loves the phone, TV, and thankfully, music! If you have a small child and you have never tuned in to Rockabye Baby! on Pandora radio, DO IT!  Heck, I listen to the station even when Calvin isn't around.  I am not brave enough, yet, to listen to it at work, but some days I desperately want too.  :)

Patrick is in L.A. for the next several days for a little Poker action, so Calvin and I are spending lots of time in our jammies.  This is one of our first weekends in several weeks that he feels really well.  I've got one happy, fun, boy on my hands!  Here are a few pictures capturing our weekend.....

First time in his new highchair!  He was so fascinated with the white tray.

Loves his bath time!

No words needed.....

Oooooh!  What's that?!

Patrick might kill me for posting this......This was Saturday morning before he left for L.A.  This picture captures everything I ever dreamed of as a mama.

Calvin loves this little lamb that was given to him by the Steinback's.  He hugs, kisses and eats the lamb every time you give it to him.  Makes me realize how big he is getting!

Calvin sends his love to all his family, friends and fans!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love,

PAC

3 Months

Happy 3 months to our handsome little guy!

• Stats - 12 lbs 12 oz and length is unknown
• Sleep - Calvin typically sleeps about 10+ hours at night.  He goes to bed a little earlier, thanks to daycare!  He still loves to be swaddled and sleeps in his crib.
• Eat - Calvin eats about 4 oz at each feeding.  He is still getting 100% breast milk and is growing like a champ.  
• Doctor's Appointment - Calvin was not scheduled to have a 3 month check-up at the doctor's office, but he earned one anyway.  He stayed home from day care on Wednesday to hang out with Daddy and some friends.  I took him to day care on Thursday and when I picked him up that afternoon, he seemed a little under the weather.  That evening, the sneezing and coughing began.  We were up most of the night with a congested boy.  We scheduled an appointment with the doctor on Friday and Calvin tested positive for RSV.  He were sent home with breathing treatments and a follow-up appointment for Monday morning.  Calvin is tolerating his breathing treatments well.  He is getting more sleep than Mommy, as I am checking on him constantly (i.e. sleeping with one eye open).  He has been vomiting often and choking when he coughs.  This definitely keeps me on my toes!  Hopefully he will be feeling much better in a few days.  
• What's New - Calvin is starting to track everything with his eyes.  He has discovered the T.V. and I often find him watching basketball with Dad.  He loves playing peek-a-boo!  We work, daily, on trying to get Calvin to laugh, but he continues to hold out on us.  Hopefully, we'll have a fun little video, filled with laughter, to share at his 4 month update!

Now, I'll leave you with an overabundance of Calvin photos.

This little stinker immediately quits smiling when I pull the camera out!

Daddy couldn't resist putting this ExerSaucer together.  Looks like it will be a couple of months before he can use it....properly!

8 Bags

Shew!  What a week!  Calvin and I both survived a lot of changes this week.  I started back to work on Tuesday the 29th and Calvin started his first week at daycare on the 30th.  If all of this isn't already enough for this mama, we did it all while Daddy was out of town for a little R & R with the guys.  So, here's a little info on how our week went.

My first day back to work on Tuesday went very smoothly.  Calvin stayed home with his Dad and I had a great first day back.  I missed both of my handsome guys terribly, but no tears.  After a little dinner out that evening, Patrick headed to Phoenix for a week of watching and playing golf with some friends.

I spent Tuesday evening labeling, prepping and packing.  I was determined to make Wednesday morning run as smoothly as possible.  My alarm rang at a very early 4:45 am.  I was feeling good about the day and even thought that I might get through the daycare drop off without any tears.  Calvin was dressed and ready to go in his car seat and I began to load the car.  I took 1....2....3....4.....5.....6.....7....8!!! bags out to the car.  Yes, eight bags were required for me to go to work and Calvin to day care!!  What the heck!?  I have since narrowed that down......no more make-up bag required :)

As I was loading Calvin into the car that morning, I kept repeating to myself, "I can do this!"  These daycare providers are trained and trustworthy.  I proceeded to drive East and it wasn't until I turn onto Buffalo Road, about a mile from Calvin's new "school", that I completely lost it.  Turning into the parking lot, I regained my composure, slung numerous bags over my shoulder and Calvin's car seat over my arm and marched into the building.  I approached the front counter and a lady very nicely stated, "Oh, this must be Calvin!"  I hung my head and bawled.  Another mother standing at the counter immediately shoved a box of tissues my way.  I was escorted to his room where his teacher, Ms. Stephanie, was giving me lots of instructions and I listened to none of them.  The teachers were not fazed by my tears.  They had all seen it before.  I unloaded Calvin and laid him down on a little mat to play, kissed him no less than 20 times and very quickly walked out the door.  I didn't look back.  I knew that if I did, I would immediately call my boss and give her my verbal resignation.  I practically ran to the car.  I only cried until about noon that day.

I have some amazing friends in this crazy city.  Many of which have children who attend that same daycare.  They all stopped by Calvin's room to check on him and update me with texts, phone calls and pictures.  Each update brought on tears, but he was doing great.  Here is a picture sent to me that morning by our friend and neighbor, Desiree.

I ended up rescheduling my last patient of the day because I couldn't stand being away from my baby another second.  I resisted all urge to drive 100 mph to get to him.  I scooped him up and whispered to our sweet boy, "We made it."  We survived our first day of daycare!  

Thursday and Friday were great.  Not a tear shed by either of us at drop off.  I enjoyed my days at work (was even able to wear a little make-up) and spent lots of time snuggling the little guy in the evenings.  Calvin seems to be adjusting well.  His teachers were very impressed with his ability to sleep through all of the crying babies and chaos, even on the first day.  

Here are a couple of pictures taken on his first day of "school".  Please excuse the poor phone camera quality.

Nothing like wearing a tie and khakis for the first day of school......as a 12 week old!

Only 2 more days until Daddy comes home and we can't wait!!!  I have to include this last picture because his smile is too sweet not to share.  :)

Our handsome little guy turns 3 months next week, so stay tuned for another update!

Love,

PAC

Christmas 2012

Can you tell I'm a bit behind?  Christmas this year was definitely a special one in our house.  We have a new baby, so how could it not be?!  Well, in true Anne and Patrick form, we decided to keep things interesting.

In the wee hours of December 23rd with Patrick still working, I had just fed Calvin and put him back to bed.  I finished pumping and needed to take all the bottles, milk, and baby paraphernalia downstairs.  About 3 stairs into my decent to the kitchen my foot slipped off the front of the step and I took a nasty spill.  To anyone who has ever spent countless hours pumping, you understand the importance of not spilling a drop of the precious "liquid gold".  As I was falling, I was determined not to spill any milk, so I didn't catch myself and landed directly on my back.  This resulted in several bruises and a very sore neck.

On Christmas Eve I awoke aching from the fall, but also feeling the awful pain from my second bout of mastitis.  Merry Christmas to me!  Boooo!  This meant that we spent all of Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day in bed.  Thankfully, Patrick is one awesome Dad and took over all baby duties so that I could rest.  So, our first Christmas as a family of 3 didn't quite turn out as we had hoped, but we were all together. Calvin was showered in kisses and a few gifts, too.

Since I was feeling under the weather, I forgot to take very many pictures on Christmas day.  We do have some pictures of Calvin with gifts he received from a few family members.  There's always next year......

This is the only picture that was taken on Christmas Day.  Love his cheeks :)

2 Months!

Our handsome little guy is 2 months old!

• Stats - 12 lbs (50%tile) and 23.5 inches (75%tile) long
• Sleep - Calvin continues to love his crib.  He goes down very easy and often soothes himself to sleep. The night time sleep segments continue to get longer.  He is starting to wake up once in the night at around 2:00 or 3:00 am and then again around 7 am.  Patrick and I were sitting in the Pediatrician's office yesterday morning and across from us in the waiting room was a set of parents with their one-week-old little baby.  They both looked so incredibly tired and exhausted.  Patrick and I immediately looked at each other with a smile and sense of relief after seeing those new parents.  We may feel tired at times now, but nothing compared to how tired we felt when Calvin was 1 week old.  It made us realize how far all 3 of us have come!
• Eat - Calvin continues to take the bottle and Mom continues to spend lots of time pumping.  Dad.....you'll find him at the kitchen sink :)  Calvin is now eating 3-4 ounces every 3 hours during the day.
• Doctor's Appointment - Calvin had his 2 month check-up yesterday.  He is hitting his milestones as expected.  He socially smiles often and the doctor complemented Calvin on his excellent eye contact.  Of course, Patrick and I had a lengthy list of questions regarding Calvin's every red spot, rash, cry, bump and lack of poopy diapers.  Thankfully, we have the most amazing Pediatrician and he listens very patiently to all of our questions and provides us with lots of answers to ease our worries.  The appointment ended with Mom lightheaded, sitting in a chair, eating a snack while Dad held Calvin's hand as he received all of his shots.  There we a few tears shed, but Calvin was back to himself in no time!
• What's New - Calvin is getting so fun (and we hear it only continues to get better)!  Feedings and diaper changes are filled with lots of smiles and coos.  He likes his play mat and is starting to bat at and "talk" to the toys.  He tolerates our singing and enjoys many of his books.  

I'll leave you with some 2 month snap shots and heart-warming smiles.

Love,

PAC