To Wisconsin We Go

Well, the past 5 weeks have been a whirlwind in our house.  It started with Victor being down and out for a few days in mid-December.  A week later I had multiple precancerous moles surgically removed which wasn't a huge deal but it did slow me down and mess up my routine a bit.  Christmas was a few days later which we spent at home (in Maryland).  Right after Christmas we headed to Wisconsin for 5 days.  I had 36 hours between trips which  was kept busy with a second bout of mastitis.  Then Kyle and I headed to California for a few days.  As soon as I got back from that trip Victor headed out of town for a reserve trip.  Phew!  I'm very happy to be home although the trips were all great.

So what did we do in Wisconsin??

 Highs.....

1)  87 year old GG flew from Kansas to join us in Wisconsin!  I am so glad my kids were able to spend time with her.   I hope I am as fortunate as she is and able to enjoy my great-grandchildren someday!

 "Selfie" with GG and GG with 4 of her 7 great-grandkids

2) Sledding and Snowshoeing!

We planned this trip home very last minute.  I partially planned the trip home because I knew there was snow on the ground.  My parents live in the country and have an awesome sledding hill.  We all spent lots of time sledding (Despite high temperatures around 5 below zero!).  Erik and my parents also went snowshoeing multiple times.  Erik just LOVES snow and all outdoor activities.  I was so glad he was able to enjoy lots and lots of time outside with my Dad and Mom.

3) WaterSpa

My parents live in rural Wisconsin but it is surrounded by lots of nice places as there is a fair amount of money in the county since both Kohler Co. and Sargento have their headquarters there.  My mom and  I spent 5-6 hours at the waterspa.  I've been there twice before.  The waterspa is completely wonderful although it really does ruin any other massage experience you might have.

4) Family and Friends

We were able to spend time with my parents, Kevin and Meg, Colin, my grandma, plus many friends/family (Nicki and Adam, Scherers, "Ditters", Anne and Aly, Buries, Amy and her friend Robert).  If only the weather wasn't so COLD in Wisconsin.  There are a lot of people that I miss seeing on a regular basis.

 Don't you think Carson resembles his grandpa just a bit??

5) No one puked!

We made it both ways without Erik vomiting from motion sickness or a virus.  That's a rarity! (Bonine might be the answer.)

 Big kids sat by themselves on the way there

Two boys sleeping on the plane

Lows....

1) One of the 6 cm incisions on my leg completely dehisced.   I realized this at 2:45AM on Monday morning after feeding Kyle.  I tried to ignore the large hole in my thigh for a couple of hours until I finally decided I needed to find someone to stitch it back together since I wasn't going to be home for a week.  My Dad was kind enough to take me to the ER.  The doctor put in a couple of interrupted stitches plus steri strips.  Thankfully, that held it together until secondary healing took place.  I just took the stitches out last night.  So far so good.

2) Sleep, or lack thereof.   Kyle however was up every 60-90 minutes sometimes staying awake for 2 hours at a time.  Painful painful for his mother.  Traveling with 4 very small kids is always an adventure.  On a positive note: Erik, Lainey, and Carson all slept very well.  This gives me hope that in 2.5 years we might be able to travel AND sleep.  Haha!

It was a great trip home!

"Big Sisters Rock"

One of Lainey's favorite shirts has that statement on it and I couldn't agree more!  Lainey is such a wonderful big sister.  She LOVES babies and is so good with Kyle.  She is always happy to hold him and isn't intimidated when he gets a little fussy.   She immediately starts problems solving (does he want wrapped up, his plug, new diaper, hungry?!).   I have not taught her any of these things, it just seems to come naturally.  Erik loves Kyle too but the second he lets out any sort of squak Erik immediately calls for me.  Haha!

Victor is out of town again.  Last night I meant to turn down the monitor after getting up a second time and instead seem to have turned it off.  Six hours later I woke up and realized it was starting to get light out.

I turned the monitor back on and heard silence.  I hurried to Kyle's room and found sweet Lainey holding him on her lap in the crib, reading him a book.  He was happy as a clam.

I fed him and put him down for a nap (she must have been in there for a little while).  When he got up I went started to change his diaper and get him dressed for the day.  When I went to change his diaper I realized that it was dry.    Night trained all ready at 4 months?!  Nope.  You see his sweet 4 year old sister not only read him books, rocked him, sang to him, and kept him happy while I was inadvertently snoozing she also changed his diaper.  Haha!

Big sister really DO rock!  

(She's going to be one awesome babysitter when she's older.)

(P.S. I do realize 4 year old kids should not be in charge of their siblings which I gently reminded 

her of, after thanking her for being such a great and awesome sister.)

Kyle - 4 Months (or so)

I am still too tired to blog much but figured I'd better get Kyle's 4 month post done before he is 5 months old!

4 Month Stats: (taken 12/27)
14 pounds 3 ounces - (50% adjusted/30% for full term)
24.5 inches (60% adjusted/33% for full term)
16 inch head circumference (50% adjusted)

Kyle is doing very well.  He definitely doesn't seem like a newborn anymore.  He smiles and laughs at us daily.  He is still fairly serious so I have to work pretty hard to get a giggle out of him.  Thankfully, Daron and Feifei heard one of his belly laughs. 

He reaches out and grabs for things - hair, toys, etc.  He has good head and trunk control.  Does not like tummy time but can really hold his head up well now and look around while on his belly. 

Still nursing exclusively, every two to three hours, around the clock. Unfortunately, his stellar sleeping habits have up and disappeared.  For about a month he slept from 6 pm to 3 AM without waking but for the past three to four weeks I have been up with him every 2-3 hours.  This is very, very painful.  I think it started with a growth spurt and then was exacerbated by all the travel.   We are finally home and ready to get back into routine.  I am hoping all the kids stay healthy so the sleeping has a chance to improve again.

During the past two weeks he's been to both WI and California.  A well-traveled infant.

He is a cherished little baby!  Here are a few photos taken recently....