6 Month Visit and & 7 Months Old!

Alexis is growing leaps and bounds. She is doing so many new things since the last post. She is holding her head up well, eating solids and any day now I think she'll figure out the crawling thing. Right now, she just rolls around and scoots to whatever she wants to get to! One thing that hasn't changed, she is still the most smiley girl I have ever seen. Since she's started to smile, she hasn't stopped. Alexis is by far the easiest baby as she hardly complains. As long as she sees you, then she is a happy girl.

At Alexis 6 month appointment she was 27 1/4", which is in the 90-95% for her age. She is a tall girl! I can't remember Ben ever being in the 90-95% for his age group. She also weighed in at 16lbs 30oz, which is 50-75% . Her head circumference is 43 1/2 cm which is also 50-75%. Her pediatrician says she is a healthy girl and hitting all of the right milestones for her age, so we're very happy with that!

In other news, a couple of weeks ago we had Alexis tube surgery for her ears. She hasn't been able to pass her right ear screening test since she was a new born and after five failed tests, she was referred to an ENT. The easiest solution for her was to get tubes. Her Dad and I both had been through this step with Ben, but it wasn't any easier. She was a smiley pie the entire morning even though she was not allowed to eat since midnight the night before. At that point she was still eating a bottle through the night, so we were really worried we would have a cranky baby. Thankfully the extra few ounces we gave her before that midnight hour helped her hang through until after the surgery. She cried a bit from the anesthesia, but after a little while she quieted down. Her post op appointment looked great and her ears are fluid free now. Hopefully at her next audiologist appointment, she will pass her hearing test. I certainly have said prayer after prayer for my little girl to hear the way she should. I hope this surgery was the correct answer.

Alexis is also loving her solids now. She started with rice cereal and quickly graduated to eating her first set of veggies and fruits. So far Alexis has eaten carrots (her first solid meal other than rice), sweet potatoes, peas, apple, pear and banana. She really picked up eating these new foods so easily and its so cute seeing her little mouth open up like a little bird for each bite. Every so often Alexis will surprise us by wanting double or even triple the amount of her usual intake. She certainly a healthy eater!

Alexis is getting more and more mobile. I am not pushing her to be like I was with Ben as I know what being more mobile means. She certainly is finding a lot of new things to play with these days including her brother's toys. While typically he doesn't mind too much (we do have our moments), it certainly is a huge change for Ben as he's used to having toys and his space as he wants them without his sister disturbing things.

Speaking of Ben, he completely loves his little sister. Ben is all boy, but he has a special soft side that only comes out when it comes to his sister. He constantly thinks about her, makes sure she's okay and tries his hardest to make her happy. When she is crying for any reason he tries to find a paci, orders us to hurry up and make her a bottle and has even brought a picture of Alexis over to her to show her what a happy baby looks like. The other day I asked Ben if he would like to have another sibling. I guess I didn't explain it very well because Ben told me he did not and that he wanted to keep Alexis. He thought I was going to trade her in for another sister or brother! How silly is he! Alexis is certainly loved by her brother and we have had several comments from family, friends and even strangers saying how doting he is on her.

Alexis certainly has meshed into our family. Its like she has always been here and I can't say enough what a sweet and beautiful little girl she is. She always has a smile for everyone she sees (minus the photographer) and it is so fun seeing her little personality emerging. I love you sweet pea!

Ben Update

I love capturing all things Ben. He, his sister and his Dad are my world. He has such an awesome little personality. He's so outgoing, dives in to trying new experiences, sweet and so loving. I can't say enough how about what an amazing little guy he's becoming. I wish he would listen more, but it goes with having a four year old...they tend to have selective hearing. We are of course working on that. However, my little boy fills my days with joy and laughter. I don't htink anyone has made me laugh as much as he has.

I wanted to share a few short adventures with my son. Things that he does or says throughout the day:

• August 22nd: Ben asked me, "How do girls work?" I honestly had no real great answer to this one as I don't know the answer to his question. I found it hilarious though! What a question!
• August 23rd: James turned on Michael Jackson's Thriller in the basement. Ben started jamming and of course wanted his sister to join in. We were having our own little dance off in the basement. I couldn't stop laughing.
• September 3rd: Ben sat in amazement while he watched Peter Pan at Wolf Trap (a special gift my parents gave to Ben and his cousin). He loved it all. He air punched Captain Hook (he was joining in the fight with Peter), to saving Tinkerbells' life by clapping and especially at the end when Peter Pan flew into the audience and sprinkled pixie dust on everyone. That moment was so amazing and the boys expressions was so awesome that it made their Nagypapa cry from pure joy. His hilarious moment of the day was when he saw the park rangers at Wolf Trap. They wear wide brim hats and he thought a bear was going to be there. I didn't get why on Earth he thought a bear would be there until I remembered he recently watched Yogi Bear. He figured Park Rangers and Yogi Bear go hand in hand. He also dressed as Peter Pan that day and thought he was pretty big stuff!
  

• September 8th: Ben officially knows how to use a PS3 remote! I can't believe it! He'll be kicking his Dad's butt in Madden soon enough!

• September 16th: I asked Ben if he wants to play hockey. He said, "Yeah Mommy, but first I learn poker THAN hockey." Where does he come up with this stuff?
• September 17th: When Ben was going upstairs to bed Ben brought a sword with him. I asked him why on Earth he had a sword as I thought it was silly to bring something like that to bed. Ben explained to me by saying, "Mommy just in case Peter Pan comes for me and we can go fight pirates." I left the sword JUST IN CASE!
  
• September 21st: Ben pulled me aside and read me an entire story! I was beyond thrilled and excited for him!
• September 23rd: Ben played old school Nintendo for the first time. He's pretty decent with Mario, but prefers to play Paperboy
• September 24th: Ben attended his first circus with his sister (also her first time), his parents, Uncle Rick and Gaga. He loved it minus the boring acrobatic part.
• October 5th: Ben saw a small cut on my hand. He got upset and protective asking, "Who hurt you Mommy???" I love my protective little man.
• October 11th: It was one of those really long and bad days for me. Ben asked me what I wanted. I sarcastically said I would like my sanity. He came back with a plastic chicken and Mac and cheese and said with a bright smile, "Here is your sanity Mommy." Thanks for the laugh buddy!
  
  

  
  

Ben's Love

Ben has a tremendous love for his sister and in turn his sister thinks he is the cat's meow. I know it may be bias saying this but I have never heard of a boy so loving towards his little sister and I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to watch it all first hand. He is constantly thinking of her and constantly being there for her.

If we're away, even at a fun Mommy/Son date, he'll ask how she is. On our way home today from Cox Farms, we called his Dad to let him know we were on our way. Ben's first question to his Dad was, "Did you pick up Alexis Lorraine?" She had been at day care when I picked up Ben for a date with just the two of us. He then told his Dad to make sure she has her bottles and her pacifier.

Every morning he runs to her room when he knows she is awake and says, "hello pretty girl." What an awesome wake up call! He always kisses her before he goes to bed each night as well. He even snuck her a bite of his ice cream the other night when I wasn't looking. I had to explain how sweet that was of him, but she couldn't have it. If you know Ben, usually ice cream isn't something he shares...with ANY one.

The other day I asked him he would like more siblings. I'm not planning on trying right now but just wanted to see what his take on it would be. He told me he didn't want any because he wanted to keep Alexis. He thought I would trade her in for some other kids!

I just love the bond he has with her. The way he thinks about her constantly and the sweet side of him that I would of not known unless my beautiful girl entered our world. My Ben is a spunky, energetic, loving four year old, but when it comes to his sister, he goes above and beyond for her. I hope he always has a bond with her like he does now. I hope they are always loving towards each other and above all...fantastic if not great friends.

....Good luck dating someday Alexis. If you think your Dad is going to be bad...I can only imagine how protective your brother is going to be.

Earthquake

Yesterday while I was at work we had a pretty huge earthquake hit the Northern Virginia area. It was a 5.8 and it really shook me up. I was on the ninth floor of my building and thought someone was running through the building but than it wouldn't stop. We were all shocked and held on as the building swayed back and forth like a wave. Immediately I thought of my children, Alexis and Ben. I wanted more then anything to get to them quickly. I shook some of the shock off, told my co-workers as we were being evacuated from the building that I was heading out to get my babies.

I prayed my entire way there. People were already leaving. Some weren't paying attention to the roads. I just wanted my children home safe and sound with me. I didn't care about anything else. The phone lines were jammed but I was able to leave a voice mail with Ben's Dad that I was getting the kids and to meet me at home.

I got into the building and saw my Ben first. He was waking up from his nap and the kids were all a bit awake. The teachers were shaken. Miss Sabrina informed me that she told the kids (after she composed herself) that she played a magic trick and made the building shake. She was trying to make light of the situation as all the kids were quite afraid. I wished both her and Alexis' teachers well, scooped up my children and headed home.

On the way, I asked Ben what he thought of the earthquake. His recollection was this.

"Mommy the walls were shaking. Sabrina was not so happy. It was scary. I didn't like her magic trick. We need to go to a new school."

His story touched me and at that moment I wished that I had been there with him when it happened. I really was sorry I wasn't there to comfort him but he was okay. The children were fine. We got home just fine.

Ben's Dad was home cleaning up the mess from a broken water heater that had left an inch of water in most of our basement over the weekend. He knew that I was heading home and getting the kid, so he waited for us. He had no idea it was an earthquake as he felt the movement but thought something perhaps broke again in our money pit of a home.

The family is safe. No one is hurt and thankfully nothing is broken. We all experienced our first earthquake and I hope that will be the last earthquake experience.

What a crazy Tuesday!

Ben was also mentioned in a Patch.com article about his experience in the article pictured above!

Ben's Fun Update

I believe this is the busiest summer we have had yet. Every weekend there is something planned and we've even had several weekday/week night events which is a rareity. Surprisingly enough we all aren't tired yet but more or less holding on for the ride.

This past summer Ben had gone on several field trips at school including Unos, the movie theater to see Reno, the ice cream store, and a local farm. He has splash days on Monday and even has seen a puppet show and this week will see a magician at his school. Between all the naps, nicely prepared food and the entertainment I wish I was going to his school. At least I know he is having a great time and getting my money's worth while he is in school.

As a family we have done a lot of fun things over the last few months. We've been to Kings Dominion as a Mommy/son date, been to tons of birthday parties, had tons of friends over for meals, had fun swimming dates, and went to Dutch Wonderland with just Daddy and Mommy. He certainly has had one spectacular summer!

Ben also has finally ditched babyhood and is a full fledged kid. He's four and with that is pros and cons. He asks interesting questions, we can actually have fun conversations and he surprises me with how wonderfully sweet he is. He still has temper tantrums here and there, but he's a kid. He's learning. I would be worried if he never got in trouble.

Some funny stories I have lately are:

• He recently spent the night at his Nagypapa and Nagymama's. During story time, Nagymama was telling him the story of the Three Little Pigs. Ben decided he did NOT want to be one of the pigs. My Mom traditionally names each of the pigs with people we know and usually we are the smart little pig who builds the house of bricks. In any case, she tried to have Alexis be a pig and Ben was adamant that she would also not be named as a pig in the story. When my Mom asked why, he replied with, "I don't want the wolf to get my sister." Can we cue in the AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW????
• We were headed into church this past Sunday through the basement. As always take the stairs that enter to the back of the church but there is a staircase that takes you right to the front of the church. Ben told me while pointing up to the stairs that lead to the front of the church, "Jesus is up there". I was happy he was grasping what I have been teaching him and then asked me, "Mommy, are these Jesus' stairs?" pointing to the stairs that lead up the front of the church. Its hilarious the things he comes up with!
• Ben also recently asked me if I had a baby in my belly. Thanks a lot Ben! I told him now and did he think there was? Maybe he knew something I didn't! Ben lifted my shirt, put his eye up to my belly button like it was a peep hole, put my shirt down and said, "Nope, no baby." Where does this kid come up with these things?
• Alexis just learned how to roll over and had rolled over on her belly. Ben got down per usual and started talking to her by getting eye level with her. Lexi got tired and decided to put her head down but put it down on Ben's arm. I figured he would move his arm, but he didn't. He said, "guess I'm staying" How sweet is he to stay thinking his sister wants him? I seriously couldn't be more proud of him.
• This past weekend was Ben's dad 10 year high school reunion. He typically holds doors for me especially when I'm taking Alexis in and out of the house, but he decided to show off what his Mom taught him and hold doors for people while we were on a tour of my husband's high school. I can't tell you how many compliments I received from the ladies on the tour as well as at the evening party on how refreshing it was to see little boys learning to hold doors for others. I'm glad he is learning some wonderful manners!
  

Ben also continues to love and dote on his sister. I never anticipated how wonderful he would be with her. He's caring, loving and silly with her. He'll sing songs to her at any time. He always has a smiling face for her and often calls her "pretty girl". He has to know where she is, if she's okay when she's crying and if she is upset he'll tell me what he thinks she needs. In turn Lexi thinks he is the cats meow and always gets excited when she sees her brother. She laughs and coos at him. I just hope this bond continues to grow once she becomes mobile!

I love my little Benihana (not that he ever wants to be called that and corrects me that he is in fact Benjamin Michael). He is just the little light in his Mama's eyes. I love that he's becoming quite the little gentleman. I am so proud to be his Mom!

Four Months!

Hard to believe Alexis is already four months old. She's doing great and still smiling at everyone. She certainly knows how to charm people! Alexis still is getting the hang of sleeping through the night. She'll do great a couple of nights and then another night she'll want to eat almost every hour. We don't think she has her nights mixed up, but more or less just busy growing therefore she needs more food!

Recently we just started her on some watered down rice cereal. She doesn't seem to care one way or another about it. I guess I will have to see when we start her on real solids like apples or pears to get a good reaction of her.

At Alexis' four month visit, she was 25" long (the 75th percentile), 13.9lbs (50th percentile) and her head circumference is 42 (75% percentile). She is certainly growing like a little weed!

Short Stories

Ben is quite the character in our house. He is an energetic little boy but certainly one of the sweetest little guys I've ever known. He is also doing fantastic with his sister. I have never seen a child take to another sibling like does. He loves Alexis and Alexis certainly smiles and giggles quite often when she sees her brother in her sights. This post is sporadic at best, but this blog is all about Ben, so I wanted to include a few short stories about my little guy.

• I love musicals and recently introduced Ben to the movie Annie. I was thrilled he liked it too! I was even more touched when I heard Ben go into the kitchen while his Dad was cooking and serenade his Dad by singing, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow...". I was shocked but extremely touched as was his Dad.

• On July 3rd Alexis had her naming at church. While Father John asked both James and I to make the sign of the cross on Alexis, Ben got into the action and also blessed his sister. We were all delighted to see that interaction between them. What a great brother!

• Ben came downstairs the other day without his underwear on. He looked at his naked butt and asked, "where did my underwear go?" I asked him if he was having a rough day and quite perplexed he said, "yeah my underwear went somewhere". Poor guy!

• Ben's usual routine during the work week is coming into his parents room and snuggling in our bed while watching cartoons as his Dad gets ready. James asked him what he wanted and he told him, "the boy with three girls". James had NO clue what this meant and asked him if remembered the show or if he remembered a part of the story so he could perhaps figure out what Ben was asking for. Ben then said, "Grandma with her boobies on fire". James got it, Mrs. Doubtfire.
  

• The day after he watched Mrs. Doubtfire, he asked my Mom (since he figured out she was a Grandma and this could only apparently happen to Grandma's) if her boobs could spontaneously bust into flames. My Mom had no clue what he was asking (although quite amused) until I elaborated on that one. Oh my!
  

• Ben was looking at his arms one day and asked me, "Mommy why am I not brown?" I was honestly not expecting that question! My son wanted to be black. I can see it as one of his best friends is black and his teacher who he adores is also black. I told him that God made us all unique in our own awesome way and thats why he is not brown. He still wanted to be brown. Sorry kid.
  

• Ben asked another question the other day on how he was made. I didn't think I'd get that question already either. I gave him the four year old appropriate response of, "You were made with Mommy and Daddy's love with God's grace." He thankfully accepted that.

Ben is FOUR

I can't believe four years have gone by since my little boy arrived after a long two hour push in the delivery room, eyes wide open and full of wonder and placed into my arms. He is beyond what I ever expected. I never felt so much love, had so much fun, been so exhausted and loved every minute of it at the same time.

Ben had a spectacular birthday week. He celebrated at school on Wednesday with his classmates by Mommy bringing in cupcakes for his afternoon snack. He LOVED all the kids singing to him and couldn't wait to eat his cupcake and started before all the other kids. They all told on him of course, but the teacher said it was his birthday cupcakes and he could do that if he pleased.

On Friday (if his official birthday), his Mom took off work. Nagymama also had the day off and offered to hang with us while we went to breakfast and then to an outing of Ben's choosing. He had a choice between the Bounce House OR Great Country Farm. It was a tough choice, but thankfully Ben choose the indoor fun at the Bounce House because man was it hot! He had a terrific time playing while his Nagymama and I followed him around. Once the open gym time was complete, we headed to a McDonald lunch, which we ate back at home. Nagymama then headed to her appointment while we all went down for a nice long nap. It was perfect timing too as a huge thunderstorm rolled in and lasted almost the entire duration of the nap.



Not too long after Ben and everyone woke up, James came home. Ben was so excited to see his Dad and we all decided to have fun at Chuck-e-Cheese. Before we left we sang Happy Birthday to Ben and gave him his gift which was a MobiGo and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse game to go with it. He was ecstatic (as you can see from the photo above). Once we got to Chuck-e-Cheese, Ben dived right into playing with different games, riding on the rides and playing in the play tubes like they have at McDonalds play areas. Gaga also met up with us as she wanted Ben to receive his gifts on his birthday. During one point, while Ben was in the play tubes, Gaga, James and I were sitting in a booth with Alexis when we heard Ben knock on the see through tube above our heads. He had no pants on. Hmmm. We asked where his pants were, he smiled and then adorned his birthday suit in front of everyone. We all yelled at him to put his pants back on, turned our heads and just about died laughing. We were all shocked. It wasn't completely surprising Ben did that, but also something he hasn't done before. The kid has no shame.

The next day was Ben's birthday party. We headed out to Bull Run Park to Shelter 7 shortly after nine as he had a 10:30 birthday party and we needed time to set up. We planned on a little play time at the shelter, open presents, birthday cake and a small lunch as we were going swimming shortly after. I thought about having more food, but its horrible eating too much and swimming afterward. Ben had a fantastic time with his cousin, Julie, Ashleigh, Cameron and Noah. Ben absolutely loved his Mickey Mouse birthday cake made by his Nagypapa and had the cutest smirk when he was being sung Happy Birthday too. He was trying so hard not so smile for some reason. What a tough guy!
After we all had our fill of food, cake and presents we headed to the water park for some fun. Man did Ben have a blast! We spent hours at the pool going from the big kid pool area to the little kid pool area. We left after three hours of non stop play at the pool to change and then pick up Alexis who left with her Nagypapa and Nagymama when we all headed to the pool. Once we arrived at my parents, Ben then got his birthday present from Nagypapa and Nagymama which was a power wheel ATV. He was shocked and surprised! He absolutely loved it! I kind of knew he would. His cousin and Aunt came over shortly after for dinner with the family. The kids had a fun time until it was time to go home. I was very happy that Ben despite playing for hours on end, non stop with no nap, did not have a melt down. We ended the night tired, a little sun burnt and quite happy.

Happy Birthday little man! I am so happy that you have came into our lives my little fire cracker boy!

Best Date (Thus Far) Ever

Today was Mommy's company picnic at Kings Dominion. I had already got a babysitter (aka Nagypapa and Nagymama) for Alexis as I knew that having her at a theme park would be a little much at her age. Plus, I wanted it to be a day dedicated to Ben as he has been just an awesome kid and completely deserves some one on one time. What we both didn't predict was James getting sick with a horrendous cold and not being able to make it. However, Ben and I trudged on in the early morning hours down the road to our theme park adventure.

We made a pit stop an hour into our drive. I was hungry, but Ben was urging me to continue on. I knew he was ancy and just wanted to be at the park but I also knew if I didn't stop then we weren't going to eat until around one. We had a great breakfast inside McDonalds off 95. We even ate in the play place which Ben got to play in for a little warm up session to what we were really going to do that day. He was so thrilled with just the McD play area that he thought that was going to be it for the day. Little did he know he would be in for way more then that.

Once we got to the theme park, Ben could see the roller coasters going over the tops of the trees and squealed with delight. Literally Ben could not contain his laughter (pictured above) but promptly told me that he did not want to go on that ride. I told him it was our day and that he did not have to ride anything or do anything that he did not want to. He was content with that. Once we entered the park we were greeted by a couple Snoopy characters. He wasn't quite sure who they were since we aren't really into Snoopy, but he still wanted to hug them and have a quick photo taken with them.




Our first stop was the Kidzville section of the park, which I was pleasantly surprised to see so many small kid rides that I knew Ben would love to ride. He got on his first ride and just squealed with delight. Literally the smile on this kids face was ear to ear. Next we found a cave that we could explore. Ben loved that as it had a pirate like theme to it. It was quite dark, but he loved it and wanted to go in it over and over again. I think he thought the small car ride and the cave was it to the kid section until I told him there were more rides down the path that were also for him. This peaked his interest so together we made our way down the path and found Bens favorite rides of the day. The first was the pirate ship ride for small kids. He loved this as he loves EVERYTHING Peter Pan/Captain Hook. He wanted to know where Captain Hook was and I had to tell him he was taking a vacation and just wasn't at his ship. Why spoil the imagination? The next ride was an airplane ride, which he liked but could never get the plane to take off in the air but mainly because other kids kept putting it down when he was riding with them. He didn't mind though. The third favorite ride was the race car on a track ride. He thought he was driving and tried so very carefully to steer around the turns not knowing he really didn't have control of the car. He rode this ride over and over again eight times in a row. He deemed the green car as his because he usually got this car.



The rides were fantastic as there was zero waiting time. I don't think we ever stood in a line and waited for a turn to end . He just rode and rode and rode and squealed with delight. He hasn't been that excited in a long time.

After a while we made our way to the water park area. We played like crazy there in the tidal pool and in the water playground area. Ben wanted to stay longer but we had to get to the company luncheon. The bad part about the luncheon is that it was straight across the park. Not fun. We walked and walked and I to carry Ben part of the way because he was tired. I couldn't blame him. I was tired too. We had a quick lunch, but there was zero time to talk to anyone as Ben wanted to eat and beat. I couldn't blame him so we left. We played and played some more on the rides. We rode the same rides so many times I lost count.

After a while I saw that Ben was was starting to dwindle down. I told him he could pick out anything he wanted within reason in a nearby store for me to get him. He had a choice of a million things, but decided on a lollipop. I then told him after we left that we should start heading back. I think he was glad I said that and on the way back out of the park we bought a little gift for Ben's Dad, some fudge. Ben was having a glorious time eating that lollipop the entire way we were walking out of the park but we didn't make it even out of the parking lot before he was passed out with the lollipop still in his mouth.

Ben did wake up and hour into the trip and said, "Mom lets get Alexis." I asked him if he missed her and he replied with a yes. The moment he saw his sister he was so thrilled that he went over and gave her a little toy. He had the time of his life, but was certainly thinking about her. Its so wonderful to see how much he loves her.

I had the most fantastic day with Ben. It was one of the best dates that I can think of. He was just a wonderful little boy and seeing how thrilled he was made the exhaustion part one thousand percent worth it all. I can't wait to do it all over again as family as we both certainly missed James being there with us. Hopefully we will make a day of it before the summer is over. I can't wait to have another date with him like this. Ben was just amazing and so sweet. I love you Ben!

What Ben Loves

Currently Ben is into a lot of things. His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Scooby Doo, Imagination Movers, Little Einsteins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Although Mickey Mouse ranks VERY high on Ben's level, something he can not get enough of is all things Captain Hook.

Ben and I have tons of conversations about Peter Pan, Captain Hook and pirate ships. It depends on the day who he is into. Sometimes he is all about Peter Pan and some days he seems to favor the famous villain Captain Hook. Tonight Ben asked me why Captain Hook can't fly. I told him he doesn't have pixie dust & doesn't think happy thoughts. He told me tonight we need to pray for Captain Hook so he can have nicer thoughts and asked me where we can come up with some pixie dust so we can use it for later. LOL. I love his innocence.

Happy Three Months Alexis!

I can't believe my little girl turned three months this past week. Time has really flown these past few months. She's getting bigger and bigger and more interactive. Her family and I are so blessed to have such a wonderfully behaved baby who loves to coo at you for conversation and smiles brilliantly winning everyone's heart.
Alexis is starting to have nights where she sleeps all night, which her Mom and Dad are REALLY thankful for. She is still drinking four ounces at a time. Her favorite thing right now is to bat at her little toys on her infant seat and grab the rattle on her doll Emily. Alexis also loves to be extremely warm when she sleeps. I almost feel like I'm over dressing her, but she doesn't quite settle if she's feeling cool at all. Who knew I'd be dressing anyone in fleece pajamas in June? She requires it though. Believe me, I've tried the cotton variety but I'd better pair that with a nice warm sleep sack otherwise no one is sleeping.

This past week I started my first full week back at work. It has been extremely tough on her Mom. I think of her and miss her and her brother every moment of the day. There have been some tears, but at this moment I know I need to work and she's not noticing anything. In fact, her teachers and all the ladies at her day care go on about how much she talks to them and always has a smile for everyone. I just wish I could see those smiles all day! However, seeing her and her brother remain the highlight of day.

One highlight of today was that I went to the Dollar Store to get a few items. I bought a few presents for her brother one of which was a Pez dispenser. I didn't get Alexis anything because there was nothing there for her age. Once I picked Ben and her up from school, I told Ben that there were some presents on his seat for him. He looked at them and of course was thrilled to pieces! He then asked what I got for Alexis. I told him I didn't her anything because there just wasn't anything there. Feeling sympathetic to his sister who unknowingly got nothing looked at me, handed his Pez dispenser and said "Mom she needs this." If you know how much Ben LOVES Pez then you would know this is a big deal. I was so proud of Ben for his unselfish act of kindness, but it just goes to show how much he loves and adores his sister. I'm sure in years to come there will be fights here and there, but my prayer and wish is for them to both always see each other as friends as well as siblings. A great bond with his sister has already started and she being the smiley pie girl she is usually has a smile for him each day.

I love the little being she is becoming. I love how sweet she is and how no one but her and her brother can make her Dad grin ear to ear in pure love. I love how she smells and even how she clings to my hair when she gets a good chunk of it. Life in our family wouldn't be the same without her and I am so thankful to God she is in our lives. We love you Alexis!

Proud Mama Moment

Today I bought a few dollar store gifts for Ben, one of which was a Pez. When I picked him up, I showed him there were presents in his car seat and he was ecstatic! Then he asked where Alexis' presents were. I honestly didn't get any as its the dollar store and there wasn't anything to get her. He said, "Mom she needs this" and offered up his Pez dispenser. If you know Ben's love of Pez, this is a HUGE deal. What an awesome brother! I couldn't be more proud!

Ben's Thursday

I had to write about one of Ben's days because in my opinion, he had one spectacular Thursday without it being something over the top like a trip or anything. I just love my little goober so much and am always thinking about him!

On Thursday my little man woke up bright and early and went to school for a few hours. He had his speech therapy, which he LOVES his teacher (Ms. Cheryl) and had several hours of outside time on the playground with his classmates. I then picked him up, got home, dived into some yummy cheese curls and then took a short nap. After the short nap we woke up and played for hours outside in the sprinkler, with a cooler full of water with myself and his friend Maddie down the street. It went pretty well since those two usually butt heads and spent the majority of the time laughing hysterically. Ben started gaining more and more kids outside of his house to join in on some of the fun. We went inside and no later did we get him changed but his Dad came home from work. With him he had gone to the Krispy Kreme store and bought him a few cool presents like a sword and a basketball bath toy. Ben was needless to say VERY thrilled with his new presents. After a kid meal consisting of mac and cheese with fruit, he settled in downstairs for movie night and watched Tangled with his parents. He sat through most of it and loved it! It was his first animated blue ray movie in the basement. He even got to go to bed late that night. I would say he had one spectacular day!

Hearing

I thought nothing when a kind lady came through the door two and a half days after Alexis was born to take her hearing test while we were both still in the hospital. It was a routine check for all babies. I said a quick prayer and didn't think much of it. It was only until I saw a frown on her face and her changing out a knob to her instrument when I asked what was going on. Alexis had passed the left ear screening test but was not passing the right ear hearing test so she was using a different size ear plug. While I certainly pay attention to anything my children are being tested on, that perked my ears up and I immediately felt a lump in my throat. The knob made no difference, she didn't pass. The lady assured me she would return tomorrow and perhaps she just has fluid in her right ear from the birth. She explained to me it was a common occurrence and not to worry. It was hard not to worry, but having high blood pressure issues and desperately wanting out of the hospital so I could have my whole family together again, I prayed to God for my child to pass her hearing test.

The next day a different lady came into the room. She smiled and took both ear measurements again. Again we had the same result. She could hear out of her left ear but not her right. It certainly was not the news I was expecting. We were told to come in two weeks to the hospital to have it rescreened again. Perhaps she still had fluid in her ear the technician said. I had prayed earlier, but I was certainly starting to pray now.

Two weeks went by in a blur. I was regaining my strength back from giving birth and being incredibly ill with high blood pressure issues. Alexis' Daddy and I took her in for her tests and again she failed the test just like she had two times previously. Both techs were in the room at that time and both tried it to see if one or the other could get a reading. All the while tears were streaming down my face. I had a silent conversation and told God that I need one ear to at least hear my babies when they need me, but if I could give my sweet little baby my right ear so she could have two perfect ears then please take it. I had to remind myself to breathe and not cry too hard. It may sound selfish but the blood pressure problem was still an issue. I didn't want to get worse. I didn't want something to happen to me where I had to go back into the hospital without my baby. We were told to schedule an appointment in about six weeks at a different location and have Alexis screened for an ABR (audio brainstem response test). The name sounded incredibly scary but the very sympathetic technicians both told me it was not invasive at all. I just wanted my baby to hear. Dear God, I just wanted her to hear well.

At that point since it was suppose to be a two hour test and it had to be a completely silent test I had to break down and ask my parents to watch my son. I know its sounds silly, but I didn't want to tell anyone. I did it for various reasons because I didn't have any information to give anybody, there were more tests to come and honestly I just didn't want anyone to ask me about it. I wasn't ashamed. I was in a state of helplessness that I couldn't do anything for her and felt like I somehow was the cause of her inability to hear. Maybe it was something I did while she was in utero. Maybe I didn't drink enough water. Maybe I ran around too much with my son. Maybe I should of ate more vegetables. As much as those thoughts seem ridiculous to some people, as a Mom (at least for me) you experience all sorts of "should I of " or "what if" questions when your baby is less then perfect when they are born.

The time disappeared and it was mid May and time for her to have her ABR test. It was a blessing in some ways because her test was finally here, but sad because the maternity leave was slipping by so quickly and I honestly was afraid of what the test results would be. I had prayed to God with my son (he seems to hear childrens prayers a bit more) every single day. Every moment I had to myself, I prayed for Alexis. I prayed for him to let her hear. Let my sweet girl know the noises around her like birds chirping, wind blowing and gentle melodies I tried to sing to her. The same sort of noises I didn't hear very well when I was a child who had fluid and infections going on in my own ears. I walked in nervously into Prince William Hospital with my daughter and husband by my side. I saw all sorts of advertisements for hearing aids and I did my best to block it all out. I filled out paperwork. I sat in a blur of aggressive foot tapping and trying my best to hold back the tears. It seemed like an eternity before we were called back. Alexis had to be completely quiet for the test and all day I tried in vain to keep her awake so she would nap and was sure to bring her favorite blanket so she could rest while the audiologist performed the test. The test in itself took about and hour and a half. I held my baby in a chair, swaddled in my arms and did not move a muscle. Literally I did not move A MUSCLE. I dared not skew the test in any shape or form as I wanted Alexis to have the most accurate results. It was after praying, tearing up like crazy that the audiologist (she is an angel) looked at me and told me that Alexis was not deaf but she wasn't passing the hearing test. I breathed a sigh of relief but was still extremely worried. If you whispered in her right ear, she would not hear you the audiologist told us. The next test they did a bone ABR test. This test was noninvasive, basically there were the same two pads on her forehead and pads behind each ear with the initial ABR test but this bone ABR included one more pad behind her right ear. This test was to bypass anything in her ear to see if the hearing loss was permanent or temporary. I prayed to God. I shouted in my head for him to hear my prayer. I needed him. I needed my sweet girl to be okay. I needed her to hear. The silence during the test was killing me. Finally, the audiologist looked up at me kindly and said it wasn't permanent.

Thank you God!

You have no idea how wonderful that was to hear. She was going to be okay! We then confirmed with another test that she in fact had fluid in her ears which was preventing her to hear correctly. This was fixable. However, not quite yet. We were told in 4-6 weeks time to come back and check the fluid levels, if they are good we can do the rescreening and if they are bad then we note that and come back in another 4-6 weeks. If those test show any fluids for the third time, then we will need to see an ENT for them to evaluate and figure out what the next step is going to be. Obviously they will not do anything to a baby as young as my little Alexis is, but it doesn't hurt to pick their brain. My son was due for a visit to his ENT as he has more then one ear infection in the past year and we needed to make sure the tubes he did have put in actually came out (its not good to have tubes in too long) and in this visit I can also pick his brain to see what I should expect for Alexis. I know right now we are building a history by going to see the audiologist, but I want to know what I should expect if she doesn't end up passing.

After I left the doctors office I finally felt some of the weight I've been holding on my shoulders for the past two months lift a little. My Alexis could hear. Her ear could be fixed. It is just a matter of time if the fluid drains or does she need extra help from a doctor to do that. I'm thankful to God for hearing my prayers. Obviously I would rather her never suffer hearing loss in any way, but I am so glad that it is possible for her to hear. I'm beyond thankful.

Thank you God. Thank you for letting my baby have the chance to hear.

Last weekend Ben visited Andrews AFB Open House with his parents, Alexis, Nagypapa and Nagymama. He really loved seeing the airplanes flying from our car and the bus that took us to the location until we reached the actual location. Very quickly Ben did not care for the noise. Who would guess with a kid that lives so close to their airport? It wasn't loud enough for me to be concerned about the noise for his sisters ears or his,but he was fearful nonetheless, so we ended up getting him some ear muffs to drown out the noise. After that he had the most fantastic time. He wanted to look at everything, eat everything and sit on everything. We went from helicopter to helicopter, plane to plane and car to car. He will tell you his most favorite thing from the air show is certainly the helicopters. He has a thing with helicopters. I and a airman explained to him if he studies hard in school then perhaps someday he'll be able to fly his own planes or helicopters. He certainly liked that idea. Overall it was a fantastic day for the entire family. We all went home tired, but hope to come back next year to enjoy it once again. Andrews is such a beautiful base!

Two Month Check Up

Alexis had her two month check up on May 18th. I knew she was growing like a weed, but she was 10lbs 14oz (50th percentile) and grew 3 inches so she is now 23 inches long (75 percentile)! She is absolutely beautiful and such a smiley little girl. Her brother was a happy baby, but I certainly don't remember him smiling as much as Alexis smiles. She barely cries unless she thinks we aren't moving fast enough for her bottle and still has yet to learn to sleep through the night. Its so wonderful having her our life. Just look at her cute little face!

First Dance

Alexis attended her first dance over the weekend with her brother, Dad, Mom, Nagypapa, Nagymama, Uncle, Aunt and her cousin at the Epiphany Spring Dance. It was certainly a family affair! Before we left I had to get some pictures of her all dolled up. She must of liked her new dress because she gave me her first on camera smile, which is captured above. She's such a sweetheart.

Her brother spent much of the evening running like a wild child around the dance floor with his cousin. Alexis was admired by other parishioners that haven't yet to meet her (I didn't even think that was possible per her Nagypapa showing her to everyone in previous Sundays before or after church) and those that wanted to just say hi. She certainly already has lots of onlookers watching her grow and admiring the beautiful head of hair she has as well as her sweet, beautiful little face. Alexis mainly stayed with someone who was taking a break dancing but she did make it out to the dance floor for one dance. She danced with her Daddy to Moon River. I didn't ask him to take her out there. He recognized the song from me singing it from time to time and decided to have a turn on the dance floor with his girl. I certainly got teary eyed witnessing that!



The evening ended before long as we left before ten, but it was certainly passed a little three year olds bed time. I can't wait for more dances like this. Perhaps next year she'll be walking around a little and enjoy it a little bit more. Love you sweetheart!

Easter

Alexis celebrated her major holiday already, Easter! She really could care less about it this year, but was sweet as usual. Her brother woke up bright and early and could not wait to see what the Easter bunny had brought him this year. Ben got a few cool items with the highlight being a net, a spiderman blanket and yummy candy. He was so excited he barely took any photos for me, but did take the time out to give his sister the presents she received from the Easter bunny. He is always thinking about his sister!



After we got through all the presents, we all finished getting dressed and headed out to eight o'clock liturgy. Alexis was so well behaved through all of it! Hardly a peep.


After liturgy and the blessings of the baskets, we all headed home for a while to give Ben a nap before we saw his cousin. We all later went over to Nagypapa and Nagymama's house were even more baskets were handed out. Alexis got a beautiful party dress and onesies. We had such a beautiful day celebrating with Nagypapa, Nagymama, Aunt Amy, Uncle Eric, Ty and the Schusters. I loved celebrating our new holiday with our peanut and she certainly looked beautiful in her Mom's vintage baby dress. Happy Easter!

Christ Is Risen!

Maternity Leave

Ben, Alexis and I are currently on maternity leave. Ben however does go to school three days a week, three hours a day to keep up with lessons, play soccer, speech therapy and for play time with peers. He is really doing outstanding with having a new sister in the house. I have to say I can't really see any set backs (I thought there may be with potty training) or jealousy. He actually is quite helpful, tells us how we should help Alexis (he thinks he knows more then us sometimes) and truly loves his sister. I am SOOO very thankful for his fantastic attitude, because any parent can say you never know how it will be when you bring another child home.

Ben is really excelling at his vocabulary. He astounds people that haven't seen him in a month or two with how much he has learned. He still needs the therapy, but as I have seen and his speech teacher comments on her weekly reports that he is such a hard worker. He just needs to remember to slow down for pronunciation and that there are letters that still need to be worked on.

Another thing my Mom told me to write down on here is how much of a boy he is. Last week I took him to church. I am happy to say his church is another part of him. He loves the place and feels completely comfortable being himself. It is mostly a good thing. He loves chasing a little girl there named Josie. He tries so hard to get her attention and she is completely coy about the whole matter fully knowing what he is doing. She shocked him last week by giving him a hug and Ben completely squealed with delight. It was hysterical and many on lookers chuckled at the little romance between two three year olds. Ben is just the type of little boy that is all boy. Several parents whose children are now grown come up to me and tell me how beautifully handsome he is, how he is 110% boy and laugh saying they remember those days with their boys. I obviously make Ben behave, but he introduces himself to everyone and is not a bit shy. Also during communion last week his Nagypapa was sitting with us in the pews, so he helped by taking Ben up to communion. The choir went up first and then it would be our turn to go up. Ben through the chanting told the men a bit loudly to "Hurry Up". Not shy at all. Nagypapa chuckled, told him to wait his turn, and there were several surprised choir men around him that chuckled as well. Ben is quite serious about communion and looks forward to it. He thought these guys were dawdling.

Lately Ben also LOVES dress up. He got a cape on Easter from his Nagymama and Nagypapa. He is often seen wearing it around the house, sword stuffed through his underwear and a stick of some sort in one hand. He often tries to defeat monsters or other creepy crawlies. He also gets a kick out of pretending that there are alligators on the floor and he has to get away from them. He cracks me up.

Visiting

Mommy and Alexis are starting to slowly venture out now that I am feeling much better. Today while big brother Ben was at school for a few hours, we went to visit Alexis' Great Grandmother. She did fantastic and her Great Grandmother couldn't be more thrilled to see her and to hold her. She also learned that Alexis and her shared a middle name and at one time her Great Grandmother was quite teary eyed that we can to visit her. My past experiences in visiting her Grandmother wasn't always very Grandmotherly like, but I am certainly elated and happy that Alexis had such a fantastic visit. I'll have to get a picture with her the next time I see her, but for now I have to post her little"rock the hawk" picture since today is the first day of the playoffs and her hair naturally curled up into a little mohawk yesterday.

Mommy loves you my sweet, precious baby girl!

Benjamin's First Organized Sport

Last week when I was picking Ben up for day care, I noticed a sign up sheet for a school activity. I am always about Ben experiencing opportunities, especially at school, so I certainly jumped at the opportunity. He was signed up for his first organized sport, soccer!

I never saw myself signing him up for that. I have tried my hand at several different sports, but I can safely say that I know very little about soccer. I knew before I went to go get my son that the kids had a demo lesson with the soccer coach that day and the teachers told me that Ben had liked his experience. I was certainly right on my instinct of signing him up because as soon as I got to the classroom, Ben ran to his cubby to get the flyer about the soccer sign up and pleaded with me to sign him up. He was ecstatic when I told him he was already signed up to play starting next week. He then started showing me how he kicked the ball, put it down, etc., He also had to show his Dad later that night how he also did the different exercises the coach showed him.

Its an opportunity for him. He gets to learn a sport and burn off some of that fantastic energy he has. It warmed my heart seeing how excited and happy I made him. Its completely worth it! Have a fantastic time kiddo!

Two Week Check Up

Alexis was GREAT at her two week check up. We even had Nagymama and Ben come to her appointment this go around. She measured in height the same, but I did not expect that to change at all. She weighed in at 7lbs 7ounces! Go Alexis!

Benny's Sister

On March 15, 2011 at 4:36 am, Ben's life changed forever. He was officially a big brother to our new family addition Alexis Lorraine. While he has known his sister was on his way for quite some time, I don't think he ever anticipated exactly what that would fully mean. Heck, I didn't even anticipate what that would fully mean. Sure I had more of the concept that a new being would enter our worlds, but to understand it means you need to experience it. It is sort of like not knowing the love you have for your child or the love your parents have for you until you actually have one of your own.

Ben officially met his sister on March 16th. He did not come the first day as his Mom was recuperating from some serious high blood pressure. He came into the hospital room (room 139) with his Nagymama (who picked him up from school) and his Nagypapa (who went outside to greet them). He was apprehensive, shy and a little unsure. I wasn't completely surprised by this but a little taken back as none of those adjectives are usually used to describe my son. He's usually very confident and loves to experience life at full speed. When he came in, I was holding his sister Alexis and told him to come up to me. I desperately wanted to snuggle both of my babies but I think the bed was a bit intimidating. He was okay to sit along side the bed in a chair and talk with me. He showed me a new shiny penny he had gotten and talked a little bit about school. He also told me how he can spell the word "bus" by singing the song, "the bus, the bus, the B-U -S". He was so sweet. To break the ice some more his Nagymama told him that perhaps he should give us some presents. He was quite excited about this and came over with cookies (three of them for him and his family) and a beautiful little plant that he had picked out. I then told him that we had a few things that Alexis wanted to give to him. He was given a few matchbox cars complete with a squad car, bus, helicopter and a few other vehicles and a spiderman coloring book. He was thrilled but still a bit shy. I decided to then hand off Alexis to his Nagymama so I could get some one on one time. We both sat down on a large chair and watched a movie for a little while. It was nice feeling close to him again and we held hands for a while. Soon enough Ben got a little more comfortable and started exploring the place. He had to check out the bathroom and then found empty cabinets. He was really thrilled when he was able to hide inside one cabinet which also contained thick plastic hangers. Hangers in Ben's world equals to "Captain Hooks" which he loves to play with. After a while it was time for him to go home. He told his Dad and I to come with him, but we obviously couldn't. It broke my heart that I couldn't go with him and after he left I did cry a bit. I missed my Ben. It was the longest time I have ever stayed away from him.



On our first day home, Ben was shy again at first but then was happy to be home with all of us once again. He really didn't bother too much with his sister but would every now and then look at her or ask where she went if one of us handed her off to the other parent. He also got to hold her, as he had requested months before she was even born if he could. He was gentle and caring. He held her for a few moments before asking politely if we could get her.


The following morning Ben was up on my bed and wanted to hold Alexis again. We complied but helped him of course. He was done within a few moments again. He then looked at his Dad and said, "Would you like to hold MY sister?" We both that was pretty amusing. He already staked his claim on her. The same day his Gaga came to visit in the evening. It was time for him to go to sleep and Gaga was holding her but she was about to also go home for the evening. Ben knew this, looked a bit worried and then told her very seriously, "You leave Alexis with Mommy". He was making sure his sister did not go anywhere. We all chuckled and reassured him she would not be going anywhere.


So far Ben has been doing great at home. He is being very sweet to his sister and constantly looking at her, holding her hand and has even given her a few kisses and hugs without being asked to. He still continues to do what Ben wants to do (which we want him to do that) but also has found a new sense of even greater sweetness for his tiny little sister. I'm amazed at his ability to adapt to such a huge change so easily and the fact he is willing to share his space with this new, tiny creature. I'm so proud of him and he already is such an awesome big brother.

I love you Ben!

One Week Check Up

Today Alexis had her one week check up to make sure she was gaining the proper amount of weight. I was very surprised to see that her umbilical cord also fell off once I started undressing her at the doctors office! I swear with Ben it took at least two weeks or more. Alexis is gaining weight fine since her two day appointment where she was 6lbs 9oz as she is now is 6lbs 14 oz. She's gaining about an ounce a day and doing fantastic!

Introducing Alexis Lorraine

It is amazing to think that once you have everything planned out and couldn't possibly be surprised that God will chuckle and say, "think again". Alexis Lorraine was obviously expected. I wasn't sure when. I hoped that my water wouldn't break during work or that she would come earlier than April 1st. She came into our lives at a bit of an unexpected time labor/delivery wise, but her arrival since has brought nothing but joy. Here is her story.

On Monday, March 14th I woke up feeling cramps. It was persistent and I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. It just didn't "feel right" but it wasn't overly alarming. I sent my son and husband off to their usual Monday routine and called the doctor. They decided that they would like for me to go over to the triage room at Fair Oaks to be monitored and checked out. I decided I didn't really want to drive feeling a bit horrible, so my Mom picked me up and just in case we put my overnight bag into her car. When I arrived that mid morning, I put on a gown and monitors were started. I was having no contractions, Alexis' heart beat was as strong as it has always been, but my blood pressure was not where it should be. It was a bit surprising as my last 37 week appointment has a near perfect blood pressure reading. Dr. Bruchalski who was on call came in to talk with me and see what was going on. He decided to take some blood for labs but our conversations were light as we talked about Winston Salem and the fact my Mom and him both knew of the same obnoxious restaurant owner in Highland Falls. After a few hours, James showed up worried about me even though my Mom was there. My Mom decided she would go ahead with her day and leave us both as we both were thinking I would be going home at any point. Not ten minutes later, Dr. Bruchalski came back in stating that I had failed the blood pressure test and he was admitting me into the hospital to be induced for delivery. James and I were both taken back for a second. Delivery? The word as almost as foreign to us as if we weren't even pregnant at all. We were needlessly shocked. A few minutes later, James called my Mom (who had my bag) and told her we would need to get my overnight bag. She was just as surprised as we were.

Before long, I was walked over to the labor delivery room. I was in room 6 and immediately hooked up to the blood pressure reader, monitors and had an IV started with pitocin. My Mom showed up for a little while but left to go home and pick up Ben from day care. I was contracting well, but was warned I could potentially have a c-section due to the little progress my body had made thus far to get me ready to deliver a baby. That made me nervous. After a while, my contractions were probably around a four, but nothing I couldn't handle. Gina my nurse asked if I wanted an epidural and I told her I was fine about getting one but was not sure if it would wear off. I was told it wouldn't. Around six o'clock I got the epidural. I hate that bee sting feeling in my back, but I knew the contractions would only get stronger and more painful so I was fine enduring a bit of pain to over set what I would be feeling if I did not receive it. Thankfully I proceeded to move along nicely after that. I had my water broken (which I didn't feel at all nor even felt any wetness) around eight o'clock. I continued to labor without any pain until around 2 am. I could feel pressure with pain in my pelvic area and then it started to go lower and lower. I was worried I would feel more of that pain and asked my night nurse if I could get a booster. After I did, I only felt the pressure which I was quite thankful for. A little after four my nurse along with James held my legs and counted down my pushes. I made pretty decent progress as Dr. Bruchalski was called in soon after that. I was never sure if I was laboring too quickly or if it was a preference but they never took the other part of the bed off. I pushed for about twenty minutes and at 4:36 my life changed forever when I got to meet my beautiful, sweet princess. She weighed in at 7lbs even and at 20.5 inches long. Her Dad clamped and cut the cord, which was pretty amazing. I cried as the nurses and doctor all told me how beautiful she was and her proud Dad watched her get cleaned up. She was an absolute beauty and her parents were immediately head over heels in love with this new little creature in their lives.


The not so wonderful part is my blood pressure sky rocketed after birth. I was put on magnesium and the nurse told me I couldn't really hold Alexis. It broke my heart, but at that point I was understanding that I needed to protect her over anything that I was feeling. The magnesium didn't make me feel too well. I wasn't allowed to have a lot to drink as my mouth was dried out from the medicine anyways and I felt quite drugged. Essentially I was put on mandatory bed rest and was set up as if I was in an ICU. I was also told early on that I was not to have any visitors. After a while and the nurse shift changed, I wasn't having as horrible of a reaction to the meds as predicted (extreme nausea/vomiting) and I was told I could have the Grandparents visit. James put in a call to the Grandparents and all of them were thrilled as they were all quite disappointed that they couldn't visit at first.

Alexis' Nagypapa arrived first. He was so excited but nervous. It was sweet to see how careful he was to hold a newborn again. He talked to her about silly little things including what positions to play in baseball. It was the same conversation he had with her as he had with my Ben. He remembered. That in itself warmed my heart. Next Gaga arrived. She was thrilled as well. She told us how beautiful she was and how she kept looking at the picture we sent to the family earlier that day. Then my Mom (Nagymama) arrived and was overjoyed at meeting her first Granddaughter. The room was all smiles and that was exactly what I needed.

After 24 hours, I was thankfully taken off of the magnesium. I felt better after that and was able to eat a little after that. I was also able to hold Alexis once more, which thrilled me to pieces. Once I was stable I was moved to post partum and was able to take a shower. There is NOTHING like taking that first shower after delivering a baby. It was a short shower as I wanted to get out and hold my baby again, but it certainly gave me the relief I needed. My blood pressure still continued to be a bit of a concern, but thankfully I was able to take a blood pressure medication.

On Wednesday after school Benjamin arrived to meet his sister with his Nagymama and Nagypapa. Gaga was also present as we all wanted to see his reaction. He came into the room unsure and a little shy. If you know Ben, he certainly is a confident little boy and hardly ever shy. He was okay seeing her from the chair near the hospital bed, but he did NOT want to get on the bed even after he gave lollipops and a flower to Alexis and me and we gave him a present of cars and a spiderman coloring book. I had never been away from Ben for more then one night and wanted to have some one on one time so I sat with him in the chair as we watched a small part of a movie on tv. He soon got more comfortable and started to look through all the cabinets and drawers, which had nothing but hangers in them. He was delighted to find those "treasures" as in his world they equaled out to be "Captain Hooks". Before long he went home but he wanted his Dad and I to leave with him. It broke my heart that I couldn't just leave with him and I shed a few tears after he left.

On Thursday, we were given the okay to go home. I was still having issues with the blood pressure but was given a prescription. We came home around one o'clock. Then around 3 o'clock James picked up Ben to take him home. Ben was shy again at first but then was happy to be home with all of us once again. He really didn't bother too much with his sister but would every now and then look at her or ask where she went if one of us handed her off to the other parent. He also got to hold her, as he had requested months before she was even born if he could. He was gentle and caring. He held her for a few moments before asking politely if we could get her.

The following morning Ben was up on my bed and wanted to hold Alexis again. We complied but helped him of course. He was done within a few moments again. He then looked at his Dad and said, "Would you like to hold MY sister?" We both that was pretty amusing. He already staked his claim on her. The same day his Gaga came to visit in the evening. It was time for him to go to sleep and Gaga was holding her but she was about to also go home for the evening. Ben knew this, looked a bit worried and then told her very seriously, "You leave Alexis with Mommy". He was making sure his sister did not go anywhere. We all chuckled and reassured him she would not be going anywhere.

Alexis is one of the sweetest babies. She sleeps a ton and hardly cries about anything. She makes little hungry noises and sucks on her hands to let her know she is ready for food. She is just absolutely beautiful and so wonderful. I can't get enough of her. Even at this moment I am holding her in my arms as I am typing her story up. I just can't put her down and probably am setting myself up for one spoiled baby. However, knowing how quickly this stage comes and goes, I am relishing in how beautiful these peaceful moments are. My Alexis Lorraine is quite loved and adored already. I'm looking forward to adding more posts in her little blog and can't wait to watch her grow. I wish time would already slow down a bit but am cherishing each minute.

Welcome to the world my sweet girl. Your Mom, Dad and brother love you dearly!