Gettting ready to travel!

Ethan did well at Carolyn's yesterday though he was pretty sleepy since he really didn't sleep well the night before. He slept well last night though! Tracy and I are really excited about driving down to South Carolina tomorrow night! We can't wait to see family and to experience warmer weather! I think Ethan will have a blast playing with everyone too.

I finally figured out how to put the links to Ethan's and Katelyn's pages on the side bar (to the right) so you can click on them from here. Please let others in the family know about this blog because we love hearing from people and we love letting everyone know how our little man (and our coming little woman) are doing.

Speaking of Katelyn, she is doing well so far. I can tell she is growing as my belly is getting tighter and bigger! Supposedly, she should be about 2 pounds right now and about 15 inches long! I've heard that the weight should really start to come on now until 36 weeks! I know it did with Ethan! I won't know how much more I've gained until next week when I have to do the glucose screening test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes.

A good report!

This is Ethan this morning playing on his new riding toy! He is doing great! He's been in such a good mood and we even went for a walk this afternoon (which he really enjoyed).

I forgot to mention that last night I was lying on the couch with Ethan and I felt Katelyn's little foot poke me. I pressed on my side and felt her little foot (after which she promptly kicked me). It's so neat to actually feel her and not just the kicks! I'm 26 weeks this week--only one more week until I am in my third trimester! This pregnancy has flown by--before you know it, we're going to have a precious little girl! We put pictures of the clothes we bought her on Katelyn's webpage, if you want to see them! Tracy picked out all of the outfits except for one--guess which one I picked out!

Tuesday Update

So far Ethan has been doing very well. He didn't throw up again last night and slept well. He took some milk this morning and woke up in a good mood. We've been playing and he's eaten some oatmeal and yogurt and peanut butter and jelly. I'm basically giving him whatever he wants. He's watching Sesame Street right now and then I will put him down for his nap around 11:30am. I'm so glad he is feeling better. I hope he will be ready to go to Carolyn's tomorrow! He's already done some cute things this morning. He helped me pack Tracy's lunch (though he smooshed the sandwiches a little!) and all the while kept saying "Dada, Dada!". We also looked at some pictures of him from last summer on the computer and he just went crazy when he saw them. He always says "Baba" for baby. Then I needed to change the batteries in one of his toys, so I got the screw driver out to unscrew the back and then I changed the batteries. After I put everything back, Ethan took the screw driver and put it in the exact spot I had just used it and turned it around! He's so smart and he's really good with his hand/eye coordination. I will post another update later tonight! Thank you for your prayers--this has been a long illness!

One more day at home

We decided that I should stay home with Ethan tomorrow to give him some more time to get better. He threw up again this afternoon, and slept all afternoon. He ate some yogurt and has drunk lots of water. He's had really bad gas too! He was in a better mood this evening, but still really tired. I will update tomorrow on how he is doing.

Back at home

I called Carolyn to see how Ethan was doing and he had thrown up again and was crying a lot so I got someone to cover my classes and I went and picked him up. I am so grateful to work in a place that values family above anything else. He looked so pitiful when I picked him up. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and is sleeping now in his crib. I'm hoping that just one more day at home will be enough and that he'll do better tomorrow. Neither Tracy or I can really miss any more work!

Ethan is doing better now, though he was pretty grumpy yesterday! I think he was just tired; he slept from 9pm Saturday night until 11am Sunday morning! Then Sunday night, he tripped and bust his lip too! Poor little guy!

Tracy and I got to go to a half price consignment sale Sunday afternoon and had a blast picking out clothes. We've discovered there is quite a bit more selection for girls than there is for boys and Tracy had a great time picking out cute outfits for Katelyn. It was too cute! We were able to get outfits for about $1.50 a piece. Of course, we didn't forget Ethan. We got him a few outfits (though 18 months boys clothes can be a little worn out!), some water shoes (for running through the fountain at the nearby park here this summer) and a little riding toy. We're really proud of the riding toy because it only cost $1.50 and it opens up to be a little play house and everything. Hopefully, when Ethan is feeling better, he will get to enjoy it a bit more!

Saturday Update

I took this picture about 10 minutes before getting him ready for bed! He's doing so much better!

Ethan has only thrown up once today and has been more active today and in a much better mood. The last couple of days all he has done is sleep and lie around, but today he has actually played! The last time he was sick was around 12:30pm. At first, whenever he would walk around he would be very wobbly, but now he has a lot more strength.
He slept really well last night in our bed, but tonight we are going to try to put him to bed in his own crib. I am just so glad that he is getting back to himself.
We are all counting down the days till we get to go to South Carolina to see family. Also, my Daddy may come up and see us for the rest of my spring break which makes me very happy. I've already got plans of going to the zoo or aquarium since Ethan hasn't been to these places yet!

Update on Ethan

He is still at home with Tracy today. He threw up a few more times yesterday, and mostly slept all day. He was really fussy when he woke up. We could tell he was hungry too, but wanted to be careful so not to upset his stomach. He ate a popsicle, jello and, funnily enough, cheetos! He saw Tracy eating some and started crying until we gave it to him. Fortunately, he kept it down. We also started giving him some formula to get him some nutrition and he kept that down also. He got a high fever in the late afternoon and burned up most of the night, even with Tylenol. We figured after sleeping all day,that he would be up all night, but he still slept. We had to cuddle him all night, or he would fuss, but otherwise slept. When I last spoke with Tracy this morning, Ethan hadn't thrown up again, but has been very tired and lethargic. There are tons of kids here at school who are sick with the same thing and one of the side effects is feeling very weak, so I guess this is normal. I hate to think he got the germs off of me though since I am exposed to all these germs at school. I'm hoping Ethan will start to get more of his appetite back over the weekend. Please keep praying for him!

Katelyn now makes my stomach move all over when she kicks and moves around. I am so excited to meet her (as I know you all are too!).

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Ethan walked from the car and climbed up three flights of stairs yesterday all by himself! He was so proud of himself! I was definitely grateful because, between my growing belly and his growing body, carrying him up those stairs was killing me! However, the bad news is this: Ethan woke up throwing up this morning! I went in to get him at 6am and he had thrown up all over his bed! : ( I stayed at home with him in the morning while Tracy went to class and then I left for work while Tracy stayed with him. He threw up again while I was watching him. Please pray for our little cutie. It just seems he gets sick in some way every two weeks. Also, my stomach is feeling a little funny and I really don't want to get sick.

On a happier note, Katelyn kicked me all morning. Her kicks are getting stronger too. Tracy could feel them this morning! She's such a cutie!

This picture was from a couple of weeks ago, but I just love it. Ethan is now trying to drink out of cup at dinner, but enjoys pouring the water on his table or dipping his spoon in to more! Last night I made spaghetti for dinner, but Ethan wouldn't eat it. He poked at it and then grabbed his animal crackers and grapes and ate those! It's been a slow process getting him on to more table food though his favorites right now are the Graduates Animal crackers (he likes to put as many as he can in his mouth), red grapes, diced apples, peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, lunch meat and yogurt. We're making progress, but he will only eat vegetables in the baby food jars and mainly only sweet potatoes and squash! He's been trying to use a fork too, as he has got the spoon down pat (actually he's been doing that since 12 months!!)
We had a good night last night with Ethan sleeping VERY well. He went to bed at 8pm and slept soundly until 6am. What a blessing for me since Katelyn is wearing me out already! I spend most evenings asleep on the couch pretending to watch TV (I now understand this theory!). Ethan came to our bed at 6am and went back to sleep and when I came to get him this morning to get him dressed I saw he and Tracy snuggled together! I wish I had a camera--it was so sweet! Ethan loves his Daddy. Whenever Tracy comes home from work, Ethan goes crazy until Tracy will pick him up. At night after Ethan's bath, he runs in to the livingroom to give Daddy a kiss goodnight and then he waves and says bye bye and blows him kisses. That has got to be the highlight of the day! :)

Introducing our little people

Here is Katelyn Perri at 19 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am now 25 weeks pregnant and getting a bigger belly all the time. I will try and keep this site posted with my belly pictures. I'm hungry all the time and crave Twix and chicken noodle soup with grilled cheese along with anything else I hear about : ). She is kicking me a lot more now, but seems pretty mellow so far (I think I remember Ethan being a lot more active). It's funny, but she kicks more when Ethan is on my lap--perhaps she's trying to play already! : ) My last doctor's appointment showed me gaining 11 pounds so far and we heard a nice strong heartbeat from Katelyn. Right now, we have a scheduled c-section for June 26th with Dr. Reed.
Naomi's sister, Becky, took some pictures of Ethan with their own crafted backdrop. Ethan looks a lot older I think in these pictures and his hair looks really dark. He is a ton of fun! He runs all over the apartment now. He's obsessed with anything electronic: stereos, phones, computers, etc. He LOVES music and dances and sings whenever he hears it. He also really enjoys sitting in our laps and looking at books (especially if you make funny noises for the different pictures). He's saying new words all the time and really understands so much more now. I love to ask for a kiss and get it! Last night he did a really funny thing: he had finished his supper about an hour before and started fussing. I followed him and he went to the frig and started pulling on the door. When I opened it, he grabbed his yogurt and ran off. I gave it to him and he ate it all! He really loves yogurt and is getting a much bigger appetite. On the drives home after I pick him up, he just talks and talks to me and laughs (like he's telling jokes). Every month I say this is my favorite age, but each month is better than before! I will try to give more info on Ethan's daily activities and I'd LOVE any responses!

My first blog ever

I have some friends who keep a blog to keep their friends updated on their little baby and I thought it was so neat how they are able to receive feedback from friends and family! I thought it would be really neat to have something like this for Ethan and Katelyn that they could enjoy in the future as well!