Here we go

Hanging out, 5th birthdays, Thanksgiving, and walking.

2011-12-05T21:29:00.013-05:00

Wesley, like most children, has quite a fixation with my computer. He gets down right angry when I won't let him touch it.

Quinn making the most of our tunnel. He was actually making Wes laugh by playing peek-a-boo with him from inside the tunnel.

Quinn and daddy. I love this picture.

Quinn's school sent this rainbow dragon home with each child for the weekend. They play with it for the weekend and then write a story about what they did.

Mr. Wesley himself with that little dimple!

Quinn's birthday party was a Batman theme this year. I was a little surprised, I thought it was going to be spiderman, but he loved it so that's good.

The cake.

This is what it looked like before the party. It's amazing to me how much kids like balloons. So I blow up a ton and let the kids go crazy with them until all of the guests arrive.

We had a pin the bat symbol on batman.

The highlight of the party. I made each of them their own superhero cap, with lots of assistants from Auntie Susun and Echo.

They had to follow this yarn to where I hid the capes and pick one they liked. Total cost for 14 caps, $10.75, that is .77 cents each. Cheaper than the grab bag items I got from walmart!!! Sorry I'm very proud of myself.

Here we are eating.

They played this tower game where they pulled sticks out of a tower and if it had a dot, they got a prize. Of course I made sure there was a dot for each of them.

Here's Haley pining the symbol on batman. She did a very nice job.

The pinata.

And aftermath from it. Quinn actually got the pull string. They don't really make the pinatas you smash anymore. There's a trap door at the bottom and one string opens it!! I guess I'm going to have to start making pinatas again.

So after Quinn's birthday, we did a quick switch and get everything set up for Thanksgiving. We had about 40 people this year.

Normally I put people in the room in the top picture and food in the room in the bottom picture, but that would not have worked this year. So, people in both rooms for comforts sake.

Great time was had by all, and the superhero theme persisted into the Thanksgiving celebration.

Weeeee!

Here's Wes hanging out with his thumb, and uncle Marshall.

Look at how big he's getting.

Quinn too!

Daddy and my big boy playing candy land.

OK, lets see if this works. Wes started taking a couple steps at a time on Saturday the 3rd, but he is very particular about when he will do it, so it took a while to get it on camera. He really doesn't like walking between Dan and I. He prefers to just spontaneously walk. He can walk across a whole room, however I can never get it because I rarely have the camera in hand when he does it.

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Apple picking

2011-11-12T22:35:00.002-05:00

While Wes was in the hospital Dan lovingly came and stayed with Wes for the weekend so I could go to Haley's first birthday and take Quinn apple picking. Poor Dan, that was the weekend Wes's catheter wasn't working, so Dan got the brunt of Wes being swollen and uncomfortable.
Thanks honey, we had a very nice time, and I know Quinn appreciated some one on one time.

SIbling rivalry of the wrong kind

2011-11-12T21:46:00.007-05:00

So the day Wes turned 9 months old, we were admitted to the children's hospital. Apparently not content to let Quinn be the only one to give us grey hair, Wes took his turn staying at the Hasbro hospital inn.

Wes contracted E coli from some food that we were never able to determine.

The E coli effected his system so much that it inflamed his kidneys so they started to shred his red blood cells, which then clogged his kidneys and shut them down.

He ended up with Hemolytic-uremic syndrome. So with Kidneys completely shut down, he ended up on Dialysis. They kept telling us we were really lucky though. The timing of us bringing him to the hospital was perfect, thanks Dan .

Not so soon that they didn't catch what was going on, but not so late that he was in really bad shape. His kidneys were still functioning when we were admitted to the hospital on Wed. however they shut down shortly there after.

By Thursday evening they were talking about surgery to place a catheter in his abdomen to start Peritoneal dialysis .

By Friday they were praying they could wait until Monday to do the surgery so the dialysis equipment they ordered for him (catheter and dialysis solution) had time to come in. Saturday Wes went into surgery. Luckily/sadly, Wes pretty much slept from the time we were admitted to the hospital until a little over a week. It really was a blessing as he wasn't able to eat anything and his body was retaining a lot of fluid.

People lovingly volunteer their time and talents during the week.

Things were going really well for about a week (M-F), when unfortunately the catheter they were running the Dialysis through slipped out of place. They replaced the catheter and had to wait a couple of days to start using it. In that time, Wes gained about 7lbs of water weight. The poor thing was so swollen and bloated he couldn't open his eyes. You can see it a little bit below, however he is probably down 3 lbs for the worst of the swelling.

After a couple more days on dialysis things started to turn around. I was just laying in bed with him one morning when he finally opened his eyes. He was staring at me and I was just talking to him and singing and making faces when he smiled. It was so out of nowhere, thank goodness I had my camera right there. I was just soo excited to see his eyes open, I had missed him soo much, that I was taking pictures of him just being awake. When he smiled at me I got so giddy. Any way, the above picture is the first time he smiled or was even really awake in almost 2 weeks.

It was all up hill from there. So they started the Dialysis again on Sunday, by Tuesday he was peeing, and then on Wednesday they removed the catheter. Friday in the AM hours we went to the recovery floor and then we went home on Monday the 10th, almost 3 weeks later. Thank goodness, I was starting to get really nervous about how I was going to make all of this work once Dan started his outage. He started on 12 hour days 6 days a week the day after we got home!! Perfect timing Wes.

I have to thank everyone, especially Dan's and my parents, for all of the prayers, help, and support given during this time. Wes, lets not have a repeat of this!!!

So here's our time on the recovery floor.

The day we went home!!

Fair

2011-11-12T21:40:00.002-05:00

Well, we went to the Ledyard fair again this year and I really can't figure out where all of the pictures I took are. Well, here are a couple.

Quinn was obsessed with the fun house. I would venture to guess he went on it between 10-15 times. Which was OK because the ticket guy only asked for tickets occasionally.

My dad came to help with the boys because for some reason Dan couldn't make it.

Fun with tunnels and his first black eye.

2011-11-12T12:13:00.004-05:00

Here's Wes enjoying the tunnel by himself.

Here's the first black eye. He was standing holding onto the subwoofer for the TV audio, when one of his hands slipped and his face came down on the corner of the box. Eeeee.

Random Pics

2011-11-12T10:50:00.002-05:00

OK, so Quinn painting. Note the concentration.

Quinn and Grandma planting a pumpkin plant hoping to have pumpkins for Halloween. Considering we are just shy of 2 months away from Halloween, I am a bit skeptical.

But still a good experience.

Quinn and Wes enjoying the tunnel. The tent it goes to is broken, but no matter.

Around eight months Wes started crawling, cruising, got his first two teeth, and I think I've written this before. Sorry.

This is very amusing to me. With Wes, everything goes in the mouth!! Exhibit 1.

3 - crawling with things in his mouth. That's actually how he carries thing he wants.

OK, so need I say more!!!

Lake Compounce

2011-11-12T10:36:00.003-05:00

Karra and Jeff had 3 tickets for Lake Compounce and ended up giving them to us. So, we went again this year. This time we brought all the children over 4. Meaning, we brought Quinn, Mary, and Maki.

Oh what crazy fun they had.

Here's Maki on the slide.

And Mary. They were so funny, they had to be wearing goggles.

It was a little cold, but fun still.

Gosh he looks so old!

I told them to look like they were having a terrible time, hehe, this is what they did. I guess i should have taken a picture two seconds later when everything dissolved into giggles.

I leave you with this. His first big water slide.

Monkey Joes Cont.

2011-11-12T10:21:00.007-05:00

Here are some extra pictures from Monkey Joe's and our visit with Lily and Rory back in July.

Rory didn't want anything to do with having her picture taken.

Lily was trying to get Quinn to marry her. Very cute.

Now here's the questions, which two look like siblings?

In the end, we Shawn got her!!!

River Glow

2011-08-14T00:29:00.011-04:00

Finally, after living in the area for almost 10 years, we made it to river glow.

The kids have been obsessed with bubble making toys lately. My mother-in-law has brought about 5 different types to the house in the last month.

Look at the joy.

He's totally in his element spraying bubbles all over these kids. They were loving it too!

Wes on the other hand .... well, he had a much better time when I took him out of the stroller.

They finally lit the fires about 45 mins late. But the whole thing was really pretty.

My boys.

Beach day

2011-08-14T00:22:00.003-04:00

It's such a sad thing that we live so close to the beach and we so rarely go. My friend Steph has been visiting a lot off and on for the past couple of weeks and luckily got us out to the ocean.
Here is Wes's first trip to the beach ever.

And here is Quinn's first trip for the year.

Wesley's first taste of sand :)

Wholly crazy 2 weeks

2011-08-13T23:59:00.003-04:00

So Wes has had an intense developmental period. Between the day he turned 7 months old and when he turned 7 1/2 months he's figured out a lot of things.
But first, the day he turned 7 months his first tooth (bottom right) cut through followed about a week later by the one on the left.

He is wearing cloths size 18 months (although that happened before he hit 7 months).

This outfit is size 12 months but I loved it so I wanted to make sure he wore it at least once before he outgrew it. Seems he liked wearing it!

Finally, he started sitting up on his own at the beginning of August followed less than a week later by crawling. The video below is some early crawling. Interestingly enough, he crawls like Quinn did. I think I've come to the conclusion that they crawled that way so they were always ready to sit the second they wanted to.

And then to top it all off, he started cruising. The kid is crazy. Slow down my sweet, I'm already proud of you. Take your time.

Miscellaneous photos

2011-08-13T23:33:00.004-04:00

Again, just some pictures I liked.

He's getting so old!

Quinn at the aquarium with Grandma

The kids being sandwiches out by the pool.

The picture Quinn drew for me for my birthday.

I'm not sure why Wes thought this was soo funny, but it's sweet and I hope you like it.

Tory's birthday

2011-08-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

Quinn went to a friend from schools birthday (July 23rd).
They had a guy who brought a whole bunch of animals.

Very nice.

Poor thing couldn't go swimming though due to a burn he got on his ankle the weekend before.

But he still had a good time.

Monkey Joes

2011-08-13T21:16:00.003-04:00

After the reunion in PA, Dan and I headed down to NC to visit with his dad and my friends Shawn and Kelly, and Caroline and Craig. While we visited Shawn and Kelly we finally made it to Monkey Joe's. The pictures I took didn't turn out so well, but Shawn took a ton I'm hoping he'll have time to post and then I'll grab them.

Here are Lily and Quinn during and after Monkey Joe's.

Update from the last 2 months

2011-07-06T20:50:00.008-04:00

Marshall family reunion - Weekend of June 17th

Quinn and Wesley's final end of the year pool party with Giant steps - June 24th

The flowers Dan's work sent when he ruptured his achilles tendon. I thought they were beautiful.

Some random photos that I liked.

The Pantalone family reunion/4th of July party - July 1st through the 6th
First our annual trip to the zoo

Fourth of July picnic - July 3rd

The fun for all amusement park in PA - July 4th

Six months from surgery

2011-07-06T20:47:00.003-04:00

So here is my son six months out from surgery.

Well these two are a little less than 6, but I thought they were cute and also show how he's doing. What a ham he is!

These are some of Quinn's friends from his preschool, which sadly has closed (I'm completely beside myself about that).

But I digress. Quinn is doing fantastically. We can't be happier with how he's doing. He is an amazing little boy. I am so proud of him and amazed by him. I love you Quinn. Thank you all for your support!!

Six months old and a happy birthday!!

2011-06-21T21:45:00.002-04:00

The happy birthday part of this message was to me!!! Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. OK, on to the important men in this blog. So, Wesley is six months old, however, I am about to put him in 18mth cloths.

At six months old Wesley is sitting, rolling from front to back and back to front, babbling away (vowels and consonants), grabbing what he wants, switching it from hand to hand, eating solids, and is still off the charts for height and 95th percentile for weight. In other words he is doing incredibly well.

The doctor is very pleased and so are we. He is such a sweet baby and his personality is coming through now. He smiles at everyone! He is happy and content most of the time, as long as he's feed and slept. He is a really easy baby. He sleeps so well. He puts himself to sleep and sleeps from 8-5:30 eats and goes back to sleep for a while.

I love you Wesley, happy six months!!

All about the Grand kids

2011-06-12T15:41:00.004-04:00

So Grandpa Alan is visiting from NC and Auntie Melihna and Mila are visiting from WA. So this post is all about the family. I think the next series of photos speaks for themselves. Thank you auntie Kristin for letting us have them.

This last one is somewhat existential!!

Here are five of the six grand kids eating dinner at Auntie Kristin's and Uncle Joe's

Wes and I finally arrived and completed the group.

Auntie Kristin and Wes!!

And grandma Kim and Wes. I love this picture!!!

Camera??

2011-06-07T18:03:00.003-04:00

I have been looking and looking for my camera, but to no avail. So here are some pictures from Karra's camera. Last Thursday I babysat for Haley and in the process gained a new apprecaition for twins!!!!!

Granted, I don't have to do this all of the time, so I didn't get as much of a feel for how much work it is. But I did come to understand how cute and fun it can be some times.

The two of them were so funny together.

Wesley is actually a little bigger than Haley, but being 2 1/2 months older than him, Haley is more mobil that Wes is.

So Haley would crawel over to Wes and start poking at him with her finger. Wes would grab her finger and try to eat it. It was so funny watching them interact with eachother.

Yum!!!!

In other Wesley news. At 4 1/2 months old Wesley weighed in at 19lbs (95th percentile) and was 28in (>95th percentile). Huge!!! I put him in 9mth cloths a week after that (mid may)appointment and into 12mth clothes three weeks later (this past weekend!!!). Again, huge. Wes is now rolling from front to back on a regular basis, however when he gets to his back he is a little stuck turtle :) He'll get there though. He is a really really good sleeper as well. He goes down around 8p and within the last three days is sleeping until 6:30-8a. Before that he was sleeping from 8p-5:30a. OK, just trying to keep it all documented for posterity sake. Take care everyone, thanks for continuing to be with us.

Couldn't wait for the pool to be opened

2011-05-20T21:26:00.005-04:00

With all the rain we've been having, the drain in the pool deck has been a bit overwhelmed. Quinn took advantage of this fact yesterday, as seen in the following pictures.

Of course, what kid can resist touching dirty scudgy water!!

Or sitting in it!

And of course the jumping, although, that I don't mind at all.

And look at the joy!

Since he's broken

2011-05-16T12:14:00.005-04:00

Since daddy is broken he can't go to work. So, we get to play with him!

Quinn's choice of course.

Batman!

Jungle gym daddy.

And it ended something like this.

I leave you with Wesley!!!

Busted

2011-05-14T09:52:00.005-04:00

So for those of you who don't know, on Friday Dan and Quinn were running around the yard and on his return trip Dan injured something in his ankle. It appears that he ruptured his Achilles tendon, but we will find out on Tuesday. Until then, here's Dan all wrapped up playing Wii with Quinn.

Outside

2011-05-14T09:04:00.006-04:00

So now that I am done with school for the Summer (as of yesterday!) I'm working on spending more time with the boys. Especially outside time. So, here was our day yesterday.

Smiley!

Look at how hard he's grabbing his foot!

For some reason Quinn wasn't letting me take pictures of just him...

So this is the best I could do. He was trying to turn away from me so it's a bit blurry.

Nose to nose. Most of the time Quinn is lukewarm about Wesley, but then there are moments where Quinn will stare at Wes and spontaneously hug and kiss him. I have to try to get those as much as I can.

A little walk down memory lane

2011-05-14T08:26:00.005-04:00

So I was digging out Quinn's nine month cloths for Wesley on Tuesday and I came across Quinn's first Halloween costume. He was so cute trying to put that thing back on. Needless to say, he was having a lot of trouble getting it to fit. So we put the hood on and I took a picture. We are going to pass this on to my older sisters baby when she is born.

But just for nostalgia I went back and looked at the old photos! Awww.

Quinn then proceeded to pull out his third Halloween costume.

So again, I grabbed an old photo. Look at how small.

We couldn't get the second costume because we borrowed that from his daycare teacher and he still wears the wolverine costume from this past Halloween so that one wasn't as exciting to put on.

Look at the feet in this photo and the next.

So as I mentioned, I pulled out Quinn's nine month cloths for Wesley. Yes, he is that big. Look at these thighs.

He is also getting much happier.

Not that he wasn't happy before, but now he smiles and giggles on a regular basis.

He loves to be thrown in the air and spun around and hung upside down. Funny boy.

FOOD!!!!!!!

2011-05-06T22:05:00.003-04:00

So, in true second time mommy form, I am breaking some of the currently accepted rules. Not only does Wesley sleep on his tummy, he is already eating baby food. You should see him. This boy really likes food (note the picture below). He has eaten pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, banana, and I didn't think this one through, but he has had a little bit of yogurt. Not much though, and I won't do that again until he's a year. I wasn't thinking about the milk aspect.

Give me more he says. Actually, I think it was get that camera out of my face.

And here are Mary and Quinn.

Smiling and sitting

2011-04-29T22:32:00.008-04:00

OK, so I'm going to say that Wesley is officially sitting. He still tumbles occasionally, but that's mostly when he gets excited.

I tried to show Dan this morning, however Wesley was so wiggly and excited he couldn't sit still.

I finally got a Wesley smile on camera.

Normally when I pull the camera out he gets really serious and stares at it intently, thus no smile.

Very sweet.

Wesley is so good at sucking his thumb now, he can do it while pushing himself up with one arm.

Of course, here's the young man himself.

No post would be complete with out Mr. Quinn.

OK, so here's the sitting. And yes, he did topple at the end :).

And some chatting.

Love you Wes!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T19:33:00.004-04:00

Wesley was sleeping for this one. Too bad.

Here's the Easter egg hunt.

Yay! Hello.

I put Quinn and Mary's initials on their eggs with 1-15 and had them line them all up when they were finished. I tried to make the fun a bit educational.

Wesley and Haley talking. Haley really likes Wesley. Or at least the cloths I put him in. She grabs for the ducks and the dogs on his outfits.

Quinn figuring out the numbers on his eggs.

Joey going after his eggs.

Quinn finally lined his up with the help of Tia Sarah and Auntie Karra.

Happy Easter everyone, and daddy. We love you all.

Chillin

2011-04-21T17:18:00.006-04:00

Wesley doesn't smile at anyone the way he smiles at Quinn. Wes watches Quinn so intently, it is really so sweet.

Feel the love!

I just thought this was a funny little face. Happy 4mnth birthday my little man.

It was a half smile that I didn't catch fast enough.

Look at how long.

Hello my boys.

And they're spent!

No good title

2011-04-17T11:40:00.004-04:00

So we had Sarah's baby shower yesterday. I don't know about Sarah, but I thought my little sister did a great job with it. We are going to be welcoming Sarah and Gordon's daughter Tahirih at the end of May beginning of June.

Here's what she looks like now, about 6 weeks from due date. So why am I the only one in my family who turns into a barn when I'm pregnant, not that I want my sisters to get huge, but...

Anyway, don't tell Sarah I did this, but I'm posting this picture for posterity sake.

I don't think we will ever again see Sarah with a bow on her head as I believe it has only ever happened once before!! OK, on to the boys. Here's Quinn showing Wesley how to play with those pop up toys at grandmas house.

Stopping for a funny face break. Wesley watching Quinn.

Very intently, but yes the eyes do occasionally blink.

Little bald head

2011-04-16T07:39:00.003-04:00

I've known people who have really lamented the fact that their children weren't born with hair. I have to admit, after Quinn, I was very surprised that Wesley wasn't born with hair. But I also have to admit, I can't resist rubbing his little bald head. It's so soft and sweet and precious I can't help myself. So perhaps it's because he's a boy, but I really don't mind the lack of hair. Wesley continues to be a very sweet little boy. He is cuddly and very content. Most of the time he just stares at the world. This is pretty much what he does. He is very close to sitting. He sleeps for 7-8 hours at night before waking up, so nice. He's reaching for and grabbing what he wants and he's teething like a maniac. He is doing great!

Good bye pack n play, hello crib

2011-04-03T17:26:00.006-04:00

So Quinn found a mask from his 3rd birthday party and I couldn't resist taking the picture. It just looks so cute. So here's Quinn giving me his best scowl. And then his best smile. So, on to Wesley. At 2 1/2 months I moved him into 6th cloths, which I really should have done before that. I am about to move him into 9mth cloths. He is so big. He is still 95th percentile for height and weight. As of March 25th Wesley was 16lb 10oz. He gained 1 lb 9 oz in 3 weeks. He is a tank. Well, because of his weight I can no longer put him in the bassinet part of his pack n play. So, time for a crib. Drop side cribs have now been made illegal, giving me just the excuse I needed to buy Wesley his own crib. We had everything we needed for Wesley since I kept all of Quinn's things, however, I thought it would be nice for Wesley to have some of his own things. I know that's not necessary, I did just fine with hand-me-downs. But, I couldn't resist. So, here's his new crib. Wesley started giggling on Sunday. He had laughed a couple of times, but I got him to flat out giggle on Sunday. I love it. He is ticklish on his sides and I was tickling him, this time instead of his typical smiles I got giggles!!! He can also hold his hands together and play with his fingers. He is teething like mad, and can actually sit unsupported for several seconds at a time. Yeah Wesley. He still sleeps a ton, I will try to get more pictures of him soon.

Much delayed posting

2011-03-24T19:15:00.002-04:00

This is a much delayed daddy's home post. Welcome home daddy. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures at the airport. Due to much traffic and an accident on the highway we got to the airport after Dan. Because of this we did a really quick curbside pick up. But Quinn was over joyed to see him and just kept telling Dan, "Now that you are home we are a family again."! He talked Dan's ear off the whole hour and a half ride home.
Here's daddy's face finally united with the boys.

Quinn showing Dan the calender when we got home.

Quinn getting some much awaited cuddle time with Daddy.

Check out those eyes! Quinn took these pictures.

Wesley was all about his tongue today. Not sure what's going on there, I think he may be teething? The spots where his bottom two teeth will come in is getting kind of white, he has started drooling (as seen above), and chewing a bit more. Who knows. I guess we'll see.

Wesley rolled over from front to back at home on the 19th and then again on the 21st at daycare. Yay Wesley!

Can anyone tell me who this kid looks like??? Oh well, no matter who he does or doesn't look like, we love him. He is a really sweet baby. And sooo good. He's been sleeping for about 6-8hrs a night since a little before 2 1/2 months. Very nice.

Hair, there, and everywhere

2011-03-06T09:21:00.010-05:00

So this post is mostly about my hair cut, but I have cleverly disguised it as a post about the kids!!!

Here is Quinn playing with his bat cave from grandpa Alan.

Quinn is full on into superheros!!

I finally got a picture of Wesley sucking his thumb.

Quinn going out for a walk with Grandma.

Do you think I've over done it a bit. While bundling him up I felt like I was sending him out into the snow. I do think it was a bit of over kill, however it is still really cold.

Grandma and two of the grand kids, Wesley was sleeping and I was getting my hair done.

Three of the current grand kids with one on the way.

Quinn and Haley.

Haley and Wesley really seem to love Quinn.

You can't see it here, but Quinn gets tons of smiles from both of them. Wesley can't stops staring at Quinn.

OK, so here's Quinn and I playing around, but really here's my hair cut.

Fun fun

Grrrr!

And Wesley (again ..... my hair).

This one is about Wesley!!! Hello blue eyes.

Finally, we had a doctors appointment for Wesley on Friday. His pediatrician is very happy with his progress. He's able to support his own head when lifted up from a laying down position. He is "grabbing" for objects he wants, more like swatting at them I guess. Sometimes he can actually hold/grasp/clutch them. He is a very sweet baby. He really only fusses when he's tired or hungry, other than that he is very relaxed. He continues to be in the upper percentiles. His height and weight are both in the 95th percentile.

Weight- 15 lbs 1 oz
Height - 25 inchs

Way to go Wesley, keep it up. We love you sweetheart.

Just hanging out

2011-02-28T20:50:00.002-05:00

Here are the boys just hanging out.

Bed time.

He's not doing it in this picture, but Wesley is a thumb sucker. I guess I should have known he would be when at less than 48 hours old he found his thumb and started sucking on it.

Quinn with his pillow pet and his how to train your dragon pillowcase is all set for bed. Night everyone.

Relaxing

2011-02-27T20:21:00.003-05:00

Relaxing watching uncle Marshall and Quinn playing.

What is that crazy thing.

Thanks for the Christmas gift grandpa Dan.

Quinn working really hard.

Wesley's first stroller ride.

Winking

2011-02-26T20:17:00.002-05:00

Daddy hasn't gotten to see this yet, but Quinn really wanted him to know that he can wink with both eyes now.

Behold!

More Aquarium fun

2011-02-26T19:51:00.011-05:00

Quinn just loves the aquarium. He asks grandma to bring him every month or so, and asks to go every time we drive by it. We even got Auntie Karra and cousin Haley to come this time.

He actually got brave enough to touch some of the creatures in the touch tank this time.

Not the crabs yet.

But we got the sea star.

Wesley even enjoyed himself for a while

And then he fell asleep.

Which was good. It made it so Quinn could stay a bit longer.

Hello Sister.

Hello Haley.

Ignore me in this picture! I thought I was just getting Wesley.

The Daddy Calendar

2011-02-25T19:17:00.008-05:00

So Dan is off to Wisconsin for a few weeks. We will miss you love. Take care and come back soon.

Here's Quinn bringing daddy to the airport. He looks like such a big boy, sigh.

"Good bye daddy, we will miss you so much." Quinn loves spending time with Dan and really misses him when he doesn't see him even for a couple of days. I wonder how this is going to go.

When we were in the military I used to watch the moms do all sorts of creative things for their kids to help them figure out how long the dads were going to be gone and to make them feel better about their dads being gone. So, I borrowed a couple of ideas and I'm putting them to the test.

Behold, the daddy calendar. Every day we move the stick with daddy's head toward the picture of Wesley and Quinn. When everyone is on the same day we will go pick up daddy.

Of course my scrambled lack of sleep mommy brain put 31 days in Feb, sigh, I tried to fix it.

I love his bald little head, but Wesley is starting to get his real hair in, and you know it's still pretty light. I guess we will see what time does.

Wesley Marshall 2 months old

2011-02-21T17:18:00.004-05:00

Happy 2 months Wesley. This really has been a wonderful two months. Aside from the stress of Quinn's surgery life has been really wonderful since Wesley came into our lives. He may look night and day different from Quinn, but he has Quinn's easy going nature and sweet temperament. Yay. When I started thinking about having another child I thought, gosh do I really want to do this? Quinn is so self sufficient. I get sleep at night. Do I really want to go through all of this work again? But I have always wanted two children and I never wanted Quinn to be an only child. So I thought, well ok, do the work, get through it, and have another wonderful child. But you know, it's as wonderful the second time around as the first and I don't mind the "work" one bit, just like I didn't mind the first time around. I didn't think about how much the love for your child makes everything easier to go through. I'm not as good with words as Dan is, but when I look at those big blue eyes, my heart melts every time and just like with my first child none of this feels like work. The sweetness, the absolute love, the forgiveness for any mistake, the total vulnerability, the trust.... What a miraculous thing babies are. What a wonderful thing. OK, with no further ado, here are the boys.

Here is Quinn in daddy's superhero pj's

I'm being swallowed by a boa constrictor.

Smiley boy.

Umm, what are you looking at!!!

It's cute, Quinn liked the bird and Wesley likes the ladybug.

My boys

2011-02-13T10:55:00.004-05:00

Here are my boys, just hanging out.

Actually daddy was taking pictures so I took the opportunity to also take some pictures.

Love the little belly sticking out.

I've started calling Wesley my chunky monkey.

He is doing so well and is doing exactly what he's supposed to, eat, sleep, and grow.

Quinn is still doing fantastically. He's back to school, back to being himself, and is doing a really great job with Wesley.

Hello blue eyes.

Sitting with daddy and relaxing.

If you are watching this with a child you might want to turn down the volume. My cousin was watching an R rated movie and I'm not sure how much you can hear in the background.

Wesley started really smiling between 5-6 weeks old and is very very talkative and smiley in the mornings. He may be huge but he is very gentle and sweet. I think he's going to be like me when I was little. I looked like a bruiser but I was very sensitive and gentle.

Another dose of normalcy

2011-01-22T13:08:00.006-05:00

So Mr. Wesley turned one month old yesterday. My dose of normalcy, the child is in the 90th percentile for everything.

He is
11lb 12oz - 90th%
23inch - 90th%

I should not at all compare him to Quinn because who knows how big Quinn would have been, but this is a little more of the size I imagined a child born to Dan and I would be. Dan and I were both huge as infants. Just to give you an idea of how big Wesley is, I packed up his 0-3mth cloths on Wed. and he fits well into his 3-6mth close.

Quinn continues to do really well. He gets a little tired and emotional at the end of the day, but who can blame him. He is running all over the place and climbing on everything, which of course makes me so nervous. But other than being a bit emotional, he really is back to himself again. Cousin Makaila came to visit today and they were nonstop all over the place. Quinn absolutely loves seeing her. See was the person he asked for most when we were in the hospital. Unfortunately shes had a cough for a while so today was the first day they've been able to play.
This is the most use this elliptical has seen in months.

Well that was quick

2011-01-15T12:36:00.003-05:00

5 nights in the hospital and we were on our way home. 4 days after the surgery, Quinn was walking around the hospital on his own. Talking, laughing, riding elevators.

The day we were discharged, Quinn thought maybe the other sick kids would want his balloons. He walked room to room and asked complete bed ridden strangers if they would like a balloon. Seeing his thoughtfulness put smiles on other kids faces was a neat thing to witness.

We have been home for about 4 days. Quinn walks with his shoulders hunched forward a bit, and we've asked that he not run or climb on things. Other than that, he's doing whatever the heck he wants and having a good time.

7 days after the surgery. He has to deal with a good bit of itchiness, but it sure could be worse.

Quinns recovery went faster than expected, in part, because he did everything the doctors and nurses asked of him, and took all their instructions as his personal part to getting home sooner. I suspect he will have some memories from this past week stay with him as he grows. I would like him to remember how he overcame a lot of fear and anxiety, because those are lessons you really can't teach.

Steph and I still talk about how fortunate it is to have so many people get behind us during our tough times. We thank everyone.

This was a tricky shot to get on my cellphone camera, Wes is a squirmy guy. But it's from today, the boys watching a movie. Life is grand.

Determinaton and support paying off

2011-01-10T11:56:00.006-05:00

New day of improvement is in gear. The staff has let Quinn know he is improving to the point of going home soon. He is just about as upbeat as the day we brought him here.

Leads to his heart were pulled today, and with a little reassurance that there would be no needles or cuts, he stayed calm the whole time.

I'm able to relay messages of support and show Quinn the go quinn go pictures, and he is enjoying all the fortunes of support. As are Steph and I. It is hard to see other kids go through this without the support that Quinn has. And it's hard to see the new parents having a tough time dealing with their various experiences here, that clearly don't have the support that my family enjoys. Having such selfless and constant support from friends and family are invaluable when times get tough. And I thank each one of you.

I didn't take any pictures today

2011-01-10T04:15:00.005-05:00

Lots of family visited today, and Quinn is looking good. The last two days have convinced me that this recovery in the hospital is going relatively speedy. I attribute much of that to the fact that he has been very compliant in his daily tasking. He has three things to focus on throughout the day: taking walks, eating, and blowing on his pinwheel for five minutes every hour. His pinwheel is to help his lungs recover to their normal capacity. It's a great way for him to see his own progress over a couple of days. The only persuasion tool I use on him is that doing these things will help him get out of the hospital quicker and let us all go home. He gives solid efforts every time I remind him of that. His tough times are when there's blood work to be done, replacing his bandages, and periodic stomach pain. Tonight he told me "Sometimes, kids bellies just kill them. I found that out on my own."

Kinda different, but his favorite bed buddy is a fuzzy giant snake.

He is woken up early each morning for x rays. This pic was from two days ago, when he was still feeling very down about his situation.

Wes is doing some growing here over the past week. Steph keeps him well fed.

Thank you everyone for supporting Quinn and my family. His mood has improved vastly over a two day period, and he is enjoying hearing the praises you guys have for him.

Walking it out

2011-01-08T06:03:00.011-05:00

Big day for my family. Quinn has begun walking. All drainage tubes have been removed from his body, and he can eat and drink anything he wants. All this and he's only a few days removed from the surgery.

I was informed by the staff that seeing Quinn walk around for a bit will help determine how much fluid still needed to be drained through those 3 tubes sticking into his chest. And if all looked well, the tubes would be removed. That's the point that I began asking Quinn to be strong and show that he can walk. I had been encouraged to see a seven year old boy walk that day, who had a heart surgery the same day as Quinn. Quinn didn't like the idea of walking, but he did as I asked.

This picture is one of my new all time favorites. How can any father and husband see this and not be inspired. Steph is really one of a kind.

I felt bad as he walked, because my encouragement to him as he took these painful steps seemed to be in contrast to the nurses, who kept asking if he wanted to stop, or sleep more, or walk later. I kept telling him he was strong and could do it. I told him if he completed the walk to the toy box, he could pick out a toy.
He was never interested in any toys, and was done walking once he arrived at this toy box. His only interest was in doing as I said. Extremely proud of him and grateful that he complies.

Done walking.

I carried him back to his bed and he layed there looking pretty wiped.

Hope this video works. May want to turn the volume down. Quinn's displeasure is the only thing to be heard.

Everything I had hoped he could accomplish today, he did in a very impressive fashion. Love that kid!

Pain management

2011-01-07T06:13:00.004-05:00

What a night! Quinns first time peeing without the cath stuck in him was a small victory. His bladder was full, but it took him a while to go as I sat there holding a little pee container for him. When he finally went he said in a weak voice "I'm going to tell my mom... I'm proud of myself." He is able to watch movies now and drink and eat.

When I asked him, he was able to manage a fleeting smile for the camera.

But much of the night was pain management. At times I sat on his bed and we held each other while he yelled. He wouldn't articulate anything about what hurts him, but it's probably a lot of things. He's asleep now and I'm pretty whipped. Just waiting for Steph to show up so I can tell her about how the night was.

Today is going to be a good one to get past. He will need to get up and walk around with all his drainage tubes still connected, so that any residual fluid will drain out by gravity. Those tubes are right through his rib cage and I know that has got to hurt. Good luck today little man.

Also, updating this blog during the day time may be kind of rare. This laptop is also Quinns movie screen. I update only when he and Steph and Wes are all asleep.

2011-01-06T23:56:00.003-05:00

I had no idea that pulling a breathing tube was such an ordeal for a young kid. First two tries were unsuccessful as Quinn gagged and suffocated. Then he didn't want any one to touch the breathing tube. Then it became clogged so he suffocated more...

It's out now, and that part of recovery is behind him.

Three tubes draining fluid from his chest. He looks like a pin cushion. His only words right now are water, which he can't have for four hours. I tell him to relax as best he can and that he's doing a great job. And I'm thankful he's listening to me.

Right now Steph is off sleeping, and Quinn is asleep with a recent small dose of morphine. It has occurred to me that having a four year old go through this is more difficult than watching an infant. I remember him crying as an infant, and it was difficult to tell if he was in pain, or if he was crying because that's what infants do. At 4, you can read the misery on his face plain as day. Or he can tell you that he's hurting, or thirsty, or itchy, and there's nothing you can do but tell him to relax and wait.
I guess this is the tough part of the recovery because he's dealing with pretty fresh wounds. He has tubes punctured through his ribs on the left and right side of his chest to drain fluid from his lungs. He's not interested in TV or books, or anything for that matter. He just wants water. For the circumstances, I say he's handling everything very admirably. He's listening and doing what is asked of him. I think once he rests up enough, things will be a whole lot better.
Steph and I are keeping it together. Family has been coming to the hospital, and giving us breaks. A family member is by Quinns bed round the clock. Wes is eating and sleeping good, and Steph gets all the credit for that. Thanks for supporting my family. I will be showing Quinn his go Quinn go pictures when he is more with it.

2011-01-06T14:54:00.002-05:00

The recovery has taken a turn for the better. Now that Quinns bleeding and swelling have become manageable, the next thing was to get his breathing under control so that his breathing tube could be removed. Since the surgery, he has woken up several times from his sedated sleep. As soon as he would wake, he would clinch his fists, stiffen his body and hold his breath, causing increased blood pressure and low oxygen levels. So he would bleed more, and his lips would turn blue while he writhed and try to cry. I haven't forgot how much I hate seeing that. Not one bit.
So about an hour ago, the staff informed us that the plan was to turn off his meds, so he would wake, and then try to bring him under control once he woke and, if he wouldn't breath, breath for him with a hand pump. Shortly after turning off his morphine, his eyes popped open and he began to shift around. Steph and I spoke to him and told him to relax and breath, relax and breath. Steph asked if he wanted her to turn on the TV in the room, and with a pissed off look on his face, he nodded.

So the next step, now that hes breathing on his own and responsive, is to remove his breathing tube in a few hours. Steph is reading him a book and trying to keep him as soothed as possible. He has been grabbing at all the tubes and wires on his chest, but remaining calm. He is a great listener, even with all that is going on.

Thank you all for supporting him. Steph and I are very relieved to see him awake and responsive.

Familiar times

2011-01-06T00:58:00.008-05:00

Its been a while, a long while, but here we are. Quinn recovering from heart surgery, Steph sleeping, with Wes, and me with a laptop, pulling the nightshift at Quinns bedside. Right now he is sedated while we wait for swelling and bleeding to subside. Periodically, he wakes up and freaks out a little, and tries to cry with a breathing tube down his throat. This increases his blood pressure and he bleeds more. So for tonight, morphine and more morphine. When the bleeding and swelling come under control, he will be expected to wake up and panic about his predicament, while maintaining vital signs enough for the staff to remove him from the breathing machine. Waking up is going to be a pretty unpleasant experience for him.

Even though the setting is familiar, 4 yrs with this kid has changed everything. For one, he looks much bigger on these same hospital beds. But also, Steph and I don't look at him and wonder about what kind of kid he'll be or what good times will be like with him. The little boy he's become, I can't say enough about. More than I could have fathomed as a brand new father. Now we see a little man who we laugh with every day, and know how enriched he's made our day to day lives. A little man who is so much more aware of his surroundings, making his bravery all the more impressive. This whole process I must say, he has handled dutifully.

Steph is in another part of the hospital with little Wes, where she will try to get all the rest she can while keeping him fed. Wes is a good eater and sleeps a lot. A calm baby for the most part. Really helpful for Quinns hospital stay. But I give Steph a ton of credit for keeping her fear and anxiety about this surgery in check while nursing a newborn. I really really lucked out that she is a tough woman.

Quick Quinn up dates throughout the day...

2011-01-05T08:52:00.010-05:00

Good morning everyone,

8:54am Steph has asked me to update the blog as things happen today. They made it up to Boston this morning and Quinn was brought into surgery. At about 10:30/11:00 they will have more information, which I will pass along to the blog (Jeff, Haley, and I will be in a doctor apt, so we will update as soon as we can).

10:24am "Prep is done (IV's, lines, tubes placed) and first incision has been made. Next update at 11:30"

11:21 They are done opening his chest, and he has been placed on the heart lung machine that will function to oxygenate and circulate his blood. They are starting to operate on his heart. Next update around 12:30 - 1:00.

1:00 Most of the repair is done, they are going to finish working on his heart and then check the repairs to make sure they are optimal.

2:00 Things are looking good. Quinn is off the heart lung machine. His heart is beating on its own. They are in the process of closing him up and the doctor will come to see us in about 45min.

2:36pm Quinn is done with his surgery and is headed to ICU for recovery. The doctor is very pleased and happy with how things went an expects all to be well.

5:28PM Quinn is resting in the ICU he has started to wake up a couple of times, but the nurses keep sedating him as they are not quite ready for him to wake up. They are working on regulating his volumes and blood pressure and just getting him stabilized so when he wakes up his heart rate won't go too high. They hope to have him off of the ventilator sometime tonight, which means they will let him wake up at that point.

Snow snow snow

2010-12-29T20:14:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update, Quinn's surgery has been put off until the 5th of January.

Here he is, the young man himself.

A little post Christmas gathering.

Quinn loved Grandmas boots.

Too cute.

Quinn finally go to hold his brother.

I hadn't really thought to have him hold Wesley until my sister said something. Thanks Sarah, he's asked two more times since this picture was taken yesterday.

So for Wesley news. We went to the doctors today. The boy has gained a pound and 2ozs since he was born! He eats all the time. His cord fell off on Monday and he's been smiling in his sleep since day three or four. It's really cute to see his dimples come out like that, he has a great smile. I'll try to get it at some point. He hasn't smiled fully awake yet, but he smiles as he's falling asleep. OK, like I said, quick post. We will definitely be posting more over the next couple weeks.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T10:45:00.004-05:00

Twas the night before Christmas and Quinn suggested leaving a snack for Santa to have on his ride round the world and back. To the fridge we both went to decide what to leave and what did my child choose oh you wouldn't believe. For Santa he left an apple and orange, beans and carrots with ranch dressing of course, a roll and chocolate milk would make up the course.
OK, I'm out, that's my cleverness for the day. How many children would leave such wonderful healthy food for Santa. Heehee, several people have mentioned not wanting to be his Santa, but I love it.

Here it is in all its glory.

Quinn's letter to Santa and a nice picture he drew.

No explanation needed.

Santa brought a ton or superheros this year.

And grandpa provided a bat cave for them. Grandma got Bakugans and I got a couple more dragons. Luckily all of these guys can play together!

While Santa brought this for Christmas, its really for our stay in Boston. A mom that we met when were up for Quinn's cath procedure got one for her son who was also having an open heart procedure. Dan and I thought is was a great idea. What do you do to entertain a 4 year old who has to be still for several days. It's like an oxymoron, a still 4 year old. Well, we will see how it goes.

We are going to try to get this one on the go Quinn go website. I thought it would be kind of perfect. Quinn cheering himself on.

Pillow pet from Auntie Kristin and Uncle Joe, "I've always wanted a pillow pet! Do you remember when we went to the Ferris Wheel and you told me I could have one? Well this is great, now I have one." Nice job auntie and uncle, he really loves it.

This is what Wesley did for Christmas.

Finally, I leave you with this pic. I thought the crossed eyes would leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling.

Dec 21st a very special day

2010-12-26T09:30:00.006-05:00

So unfortunately, we finally had to evict the newest addition to our family. Thursday the 16th at my last doctors appointment the doctor checked me and told me that at the moment I was not making any progress toward have this child. She then asked me if we wanted to schedule an induction for the following week. I told her definitely not, I wanted this baby to come on his own. She told me that was fine and as long as everything looked good with the placenta and fluid levels, they would actually let me go as far as two weeks over. I thought that was awesome, until I looked at the calender. Wesley had been breach for a while and had luckily turned head down, but then he was posterior with his back to my back even up until the day he was born. Apparently this increases your change of needing a Csection by a lot. So once I looked at the calender I realized that I couldn't let Wesley wait too long or I might not make it to Quinn's preop day on the 30th if I did need a Csection or any kind of repair. I called the doctor back and they said it would have to be Tuesday the 21st due to the holiday schedule (earlier than I would have liked, but what can you do). Well, Sunday into Monday I started getting crampy and thought that perhaps I might get to have Wesley without the assistance of the dreaded hated pitocin. The doctor had me come in at the end of the day and at that point I was making progress so again I thought, yes, this might happen on its own. But then nothing, Monday night was a more comfortable nights sleep than Sunday into Monday. Sigh, so 5:30 in the morning, I got up, did a little cleaning, eat some breakfast, got Quinn's stuff ready for school so my dad didn't have to do anything, and took some pictures. Here are Dan and Quinn at 6:30 the morning Wesley was born.

Here are my last belly pics.

Definitely smaller than with Quinn. I gained 68lbs with Quinn vs. the 47 (+ 3lb of water weigh I gained the day before) I gained with Wesley. Quite a difference. I guess all that extra fluid did make a difference.

We got to the hospital at 7:30am Dec 21st (the first day of winter, with the first dusting of snow we had had in a long time, the day of a lunar eclipse, and the day my second son was born. Pretty special day in my book).

They started pitocin at 9a, I finally asked for pain management at 1:20, it came around 1:40 it wore off around 3:40, we tried another round around 4p, which didn't work accept to numb my legs, very annoying when you are delivering. Luckily Wesley was born at 5:05 so it really wasn't too bad!!! I had about a half hour of "wholly crap this hurts!!!" and then I got to start pushing. Half hour later the boy was born, healthy and breathing and has now become the youngest baby I have ever held!!!!!! :) and taken home from the hospital. The night he was born, Dan said, how do we know if he's ok during the middle of the night, there are no monitors telling us he's breathing and his heart is beating. Well, yes, welcome to the wonderful unnerving real world. Thank you thank you thank you!!

For your viewing pleasure ...... Wesley and his amazing muscles!

Quinn came to visit for a little each day thanks to Grandpa Dan who watched him while we were in the hospital.

Grandma came too. I don't have a picture, but Nohno, uncle Tony, his girlfriend Heather, cousin Maki, and Marshall also came.

Look ma I can already throw adorable posses.

Master Wesley himself.

I have no idea who he looks like, the boy has golden brown hair (although Dan insists it's blond, so I guess his hair color is a matter of opinion) and dimples?? Where did those come from.

Getting ready to go home. Born on Tuesday when home on Thursday, really??

I couldn't resist the bear outfit my mom got us.

And we are out of here.

Yes still still pregnant

2010-12-13T20:27:00.002-05:00

Here are the latest belly pics. I am due tomorrow.

I don't know, but I don't think I'm as big with this one as I was with Quinn.

But still huge.

That being said, I've gained 46 lbs with this little boy verses the 68lbs I gained with Quinn.

Speaking of, here is the boy himself using daddy as a jungle gym.

Back in Boston

2010-12-10T05:42:00.006-05:00

This past Monday we brought Quinn up to Childrens for a cardiac cath. At the beginning of September during a routine check up with the cardiologist it was discovered that the pressures on the left side of Quinn's heart were getting high and there seemed to be some thickening of the heart walls indicating an obstruction was starting to build on the left side of his heart. Since his birth and subsequent heart repair we have been working on the right side of his heart widening the pulmonary artery which sends blood to the lungs. Now apparently we are dealing with something new and unrelated to Quinn's initial heart condition. He has developed a buildup of dense tissue just below the aortic valve that is actually starting to impact the valve in the aorta (the vessel that sends blood to the body). Of course you would never know any of this by looking at him, Quinn never stops moving. Quinn's cardiologist actually looked at us and said that they don't really know why this condition occurs and it's actually pretty rare for someone with Quinn's condition to develop the obstruction in the left side of the heart we are facing now. Sigh, of course it is. So long story short, the open heart surgery I thought we had avoided when Europe developed (and the FDA approved) a way to break up his stents and place a valve via a catheter procedure is now coming our way January 3rd. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Here we are on Friday for his preprocedure check up.
Quinn waiting for his evaluative echo.

The nurse putting on his id bracelet

Monday morning, arriving for his cath. This contraption is the most awesome thing. I think at some point anyone who enters this hospital stands and watches this thing for a while.

Waiting in the waiting room before the procedure.

Getting ready.

After being given the sleepy medicine.

Right after the procedure.

Getting ready to go.

Quinn actually opted to ride in the chair rather than on daddy's shoulder!!! Daddy liked that.

A couple of Quinnisms from this trip.
Nurse referring to the blood pressure cuff: is this bothering you?
Quinn half awake: Actually, its driving me crazy.

Quinn: Daddy, why do you have 2 heads.
Daddy: I don't
Quinn: Yes you do (pointing and counting) 1, 2.

Too cute.

Baby Shower

2010-12-10T04:07:00.005-05:00

Yay, I was so worried I ran out of time to do this. Kristin and Karra surprised me this past weekend with a lunch to celebrate the little boy we have coming.
It was perfect and they will never know how grateful I am. I worry so much about short changing this little boy between school and everything going on with Quinn. And I absolutely don't want to do that. For a while I was thinking I was already doing a poor job at being a mommy to a second child. But this weekend, I finished shampooing the carpets and setting up the room. And then this!!! We celebrated my new little boy. Thank you thank you thank you everyone.

Little man who we have yet to name, you are very loved already and we definitely want you here.

Oh yes, and we came home to find this!!! Ah my boys.

Quinn's Birthday

2010-12-10T04:01:00.004-05:00

Sadly, I did not get a ton of pictures from Quinn's birthday. It's kind of tough when you are the hostess.

We had a how to train your dragon birthday theme (if you don't remember, that was the very first movie he ever saw in a theater, and he still loves it). I loved it too.

Uncle Marshall made the most amazing cake with a huge Toothless (the dragon) on top.

Yummy and oh so exciting. Quinn loved it. Thanks Marshall.

So we had a whole bunch of stuff. Food of course, then we turned the kids into dragon trainers by putting tattoos on their arms. The first thing they had to learn was how to knock dragons out of the sky (balloons tapped to the ceiling). We tried to do this with little Frisbees, but that didn't work so well so we grabbed some Nerf swords and let the kids go at it. Then they had to tame their dragon by stomping on its tail. Each child had a balloon on a string attached to their waist and their trainer had to pop the balloon to subdue them. Who knew those balloons would be so hard to pop.

We had a pinata, the cake, and then all the kids wanted to go outside and play soccer. We didn't even get a chance to open the presents!!! Seems like everyone had a good time. I wonder how next year will go.

Halloween!!!!

2010-12-10T03:51:00.006-05:00

Here's grandpa with miss Haley on Halloween.

Little monkey Joey.

Grandpa Alan joined us again this year. The kids just love having him, and Mary was over the moon that Grandpa was a ninja too.

Look at these posses.

Grandpa Dan, Daddy, and Quinn. We were really excited to have both grandpas this year.

We are very lucky that the town we live near shuts down for the day, closes off the main road, and the shops hand out candy.

It's really great, it takes maybe a half hour to get through all the stores (just the right amount to time for pregnant mommies and little kids). It's safe and the kids don't get too much candy. I love it.

Grandma came too. What lucky kids to have such involved grandparents. I hope Quinn appreciates how lucky he is.

This guy is amazing, he was there last year too! I can't imagine how much that suit must have been, I'm glad he comes out to share it with the kids.

A project from his preschool. I love it.

Welcome Haley

2010-12-10T03:49:00.002-05:00

So my little sister and her husband Jeff welcomed their first baby (and my second God Daughter) into the world on October 14th.

Haley weighed in at a whooping 9lb 11oz, what an ordeal she gave her mommy.

I had the great honor of being with them when she was born and let me tell just say how amazing the whole thing is when you actually get to watch it happen and are aware of what is going on.

Amazing!!! Haley, don't give your mommy so much trouble in the future though, OK!

October at the Farmers Daughter

2010-12-06T15:27:00.007-05:00

For the first two years of his life, in October we would go to a farm down the street that had a corn maze. Well last year they didn't have the maze so we went to this tree/plant nursery near my school. It was a blast and I think we are going to try to make that a tradition. So, here we are at the farmers daughter.

Well, this one is before we went, but I like the picture, so here it is.

So the kids get to dig for buried candy and trinkets. This man was sooo nice. Normally they put the kids on a timer and only give them a couple of minutes. Well, he did not time Quinn at all, he went in and helped him, and I swear they were in there for about 10 minutes. It was really cute, Quinn really got into it.

Exhibit A.

They had a short corn maze, which was really great so the kids could go in and not be nervous.

There were pumpkin slingshots again. Always a hit. Uncle Marshall and Quinn actually hit one of the stuffed scarecrows out in the field. Speaking of, they also do pumpkin catapulting. Karra and I catapulted a pumpkin together and hit the silhouetted man target on top of the hay bails out in the field right in the neck. Great shot, who knew we should have live in medieval times!

More slingshot pics.

So this looks like we are starting Quinn on coffee really early, but actually its Dans.

Auntie and Uncle Jeffrey came with us. This was a hay ride.

And my friend Lisa who was with us last year and prompted the start of this little tradition. My friends Angela and Dave came too, I can't believe I don't have pictures of them!!!

Karra and I all pregnant and smuggling pumpkins. At this point Karra was 5 days away from having her baby (this was the 9th of Oct).

And of course, what trip would be complete without a petting zoo.

So much fun to be had. We will definitely go again next year if the nursery hosts this again. Happy soon to be Halloween.

Belly Pics and Fairs

2010-09-12T18:30:00.007-04:00

I've noticed a major lack of belly pics with this child and I don't want him to feel short changed. So here I am at not quite 27 weeks or 6 1/2 months pregnant.

Yes I'm huge.

No I'm not scared about how big I'm going to get.

I think it's just a family thing.

My cousin, my mother, and I all get huge. Karra just doesn't have enough of a waist to get huge.

We went to our home town fair this weekend. It's been down sized a bit since we were younger, but it was still a good time. This picture was taken on the ferris wheel.

It was quite a long way down.

The helicopter ride.

Dragons.

And cars. Don't forget the food .... sausage, ice cream, fried dough, fried oreos, and more ... yum.

Back to school

2010-09-11T09:31:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm back to school again and figured I'd kick off the semester with a post. We went bowling a little while ago and amusingly Quinn loved the schools most of all.
Here's daddy teaching the boy to bowl.

We also went fruit picking over the weekend.

The pears were really tough to get off the tree. They tasted fine, but I'm guessing they weren't quite ready to come off the tree yet.

We also picked peaches and apples.

As well as raspberries.

Raspberries are the perfect fruit for little kids to pick!!!! And eat, of course.

This week in review

2010-08-21T13:09:00.015-04:00

Before I start this post, there are a couple of things about Quinn I want to write down so I don't forget them when the new baby comes. 1. He used to, and sometimes still does, fall asleep and wake up humming or singing. 2. When upset, his eyebrows used to get very red. I used to say he was never going to be able to hide his emotions no matter what kind of a poker face he had. Luckily the eyebrows have since left themselves out of the emotional equation. 3. The weekend Dan and Marshall had their boys weekend this year, Quinn spent Saturday night my mom. When I called him that night to check in with them and say goodnight, Quinn asked me completely unprompted, "Mom will you be OK all by yourself?". Yes my love I most certainly will. But it melts my heart you would even think to ask that. I'm sure there are so many more things I want to remember, but that's what I've come up with for now.

My two favorite boys.

Quinn at his last Gymnastics class for the year.

They normally have a closed door policy, however since this was the last class all the parents got to watch.

So this is the first time I'm officially seeing all these things.

I say officially, because there are little spots around the studio you can peak into.

Forward roll.

It amazes me how strong these kids are. They can hang from those bars forever.

Grandpa Dan watched Quinn on Thursday while I went to a slew of meetings in preparation for going back school.

He took him on his first ever fishing trip.

Quinn actually caught 2 fish. Although, like his mother, my dad said Quinn enjoyed feeding the fish more than catching them. The lake was so clear you could see the fish coming from all over to eat his food, so he just kept dropping it in.

He swims with his eyes open. Kind of neat.

First time working a water pump.

Looks like and sounded like they had a fantastic day. Thanks dad.

Next on our list of adventures for the week was Lake Comp@unce in CT.

I won the tickets through my radio station. So, we went and made it a Quinn day.

I think it was a hit.

There were a ton of rides parents couldn't go on. So he got several solo adventures.

Luckily the boy just cleared 36 inches, so there were actually a lot of exciting rides he got to go on.

Not all of which he liked at first. He ended up loving this one.

The water park was where it was at for him though.

We spent most of the day here.

Which was good for us also, since we could actually go into them and have a little fun ourselves.

Here's a belly picture for everyone whose been waiting (I did end up posting one bellow a couple of posts ago).

Quinn loved the wave pool. He drank a lot of water, public pool water, yuck. But he loved it.

Finally, a little baby news. Dan finally got to feel the new unnamed addition to our family move (23wks). The little boy gave him a couple of good kicks in the AM hours Friday morning.

A Special Visit

2010-08-03T20:48:00.006-04:00

This past week Dan's dad and step mom were visiting, so the grand kids got a lot of quality time with them.

Here are some pictures of the good time had by all.

Here's the end of this ride.

Grandpa luring them in.

The after.

Here's how Grandpa gets on the float.

Pure bliss for grandpa.

Ah heaven.

Here's the latest addition to the family. He does swim with us, just not when things are too rowdy.

Thanks grandpa Alan and grandma Kim, we all had a great time and enjoyed your visit.

In other news, the pregnancy is still going well and I'm feeling good. I of course forgot to put up pictures.

Half way there ish!!!

2010-07-28T20:30:00.006-04:00

OK, so I'm 20 weeks today, which is now considered the half way point in a pregnancy. I say ish because of course only God knows when this little boy will be born. I wanted to mark this milestone with a strictly new baby post. I have to say, I am thrilled to be having another boy. I would have been very happy to have a girl too, but I have to admit, I really wanted another boy ;). I like the temperament of boys. Also, I already have everything I need for a boy, and I'm somewhat practiced in the boy stuff. I realize I haven't put any belly pictures up, I will post them below in a little bit, I need to take some. OK, so as I mentioned in the previous post, I'm finally feeling this munchkin move, which has been really nice. This is 2 1/2 weeks earlier than his older brother. I started to feel just a little bit of movement on Friday, now I feel him quite often. I love this part of being pregnant. Feeling movement makes me feel a bit more justified in having such a huge belly!!!! There really is a baby in there. In other news, I'm really into pickles this time. It feels so stereotypical pregnant, but what can you do. I'm loving the Clausens dill spears right now. I have 2 jars in my refrigerator! I can't think of much else to say at this point. I'm feeling great, big, but great. Dan and I are really excited. Feel like we are a bit crazy for doing this again, but very excited. Can't wait to meet this little man and get to take him home right away. We will actually get the newborn experience this time, although in some ways that really scares me!!!!! I can't imagine I'll get much less sleep than I did the last time though. I'll let you know. OK, belly pictures to come soon.

Zoo day

2010-07-25T21:07:00.004-04:00

Quinn and I went to the zoo on Friday. It was the perfect day. It was a little rainy, so it was cool and overcast. Very nice for a pregnant lady.

There was this little section in front of the crane pen that was rocky like this. Quinn spent a lot of time here. Luckily it was small so I didn't have to chase him all over.

He really liked the seals.

I don't know if anyone remembers that we went to the zoo last year with Dan's sister and niece. Well, there was a story in that post that mentioned the fact that we were no where near a bathroom, when all of a sudden Quinn told me he had to go to the bathroom. I had no idea what to do, I knew we weren't going to make it to the bathroom. Next thing I know, he dropped trow and started peeing right in the middle of the exhibit. Well, this is a picture of the spot.

Hello everyone.

In other news, we are having another boy and according to the ultrasound, the baby looks very healthy!!!!!! Yayayayayayay!!!!! It's funny, with Quinn I used to wonder who he would look like more, Dan or I. But with this one, I've just been wondering how much he'll look like Quinn. It's funny how things work the second time around.

Birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays!

2010-07-23T21:09:00.009-04:00

We started off the week with one of Quinn's friends birthdays, of course I forgot the camera. But loads of fun needless to say. Than Wednesday we had Maki's birthday. Dan and Quinn spent the night with them so he would be able to go to the party.
The moon bounce was a huge hit.

But it was even better after the rain. Talk about a slip and slid on steroids.

Happy 5th birthday.

Mary, Quinn, and Maki are so lucky to live so close together. How wonderful to be able to grow up so close.

Pinata time.

Then on Thursday, we had Quinn's friend Torey's birthday.

We went last year, and have a very similar picture to this one.

Black frosting really leaves it's mark.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Last but not least, I finally got to feel the new baby moving tonight. I love that feeling so much. In other news, we have our ultrasound tomorrow to find out what this munchkin is and if it's happy and healthy. Well, we'll find out the healthy part anyway. Please, please, please!!!!

Dog doors and sparklers

2010-07-10T20:10:00.003-04:00

Here is Quinn's latest form of entertainment. It kept him busy for about 45min.

In out in out in out.

This is the first time Quinn has ever played with sparklers. The next picture says it all.

Do you think it thought is was pretty interesting?

Mary liked them too. Thanks uncle Joe for bringing them.

Family reunion/wedding

2010-07-08T10:32:00.006-04:00

Here's the boys personality shining through in spades.

We took Quinn to his first baseball game (Pittsburgh Pirates) just before the reunion.

We spent more time on the escalators than watching the game, but that's alright.

He is the entire Pantalone family, minus Uncle Howee, this hasn't happened in years. At least one grand kid is missing each reunion. It was a wonderful time and we were so happy to see everyone.

My grandmother definitely stole the show. No bathing suite didn't stop this woman!!!

Quinn with my aunt Tina.

Quinn got to meet his second cousins (I think? 1st cousin once removed? My cousins kids).

And I think they hit it off nicely.

All the pregnant bellies.

I had to add this one. These are my dad's brothers. You can't see any resemblance here can you?

ell
Our first new family photo.

Annual pool party

2010-06-27T11:13:00.007-04:00

This past Thursday we had Quinn's annual end of the year school party at our house. It's the second annual pool party to be precise. After the party ended, it hit me, we could potentially have 6 more of these between Quinn and the new baby going to the same school. I'm really excited by that thought.

So as you can see there were a ton of kids, teens/tweens, and parents.

Just about all of the kids from his school came, and fun was had by all.

Even the parents!!! Which is really nice. We have a very unique pool. The shallow end is 3ft and the deep end is 4ft, so it's the perfect kid pool and a very relaxing parent pool.
Mary joined us,

and so did Joey.

And of course here is the boy himself.

He actually asked to have a party for all of his friends this year. I was really proud of him for thinking to do this. I hope he continues to be considerate of others.

And finally a quick pregnancy update. I have not had a lot of time to blog over the last couple months, but I don't want to neglect talking about this poor baby before its born. So, pregnancy number two has already started out pretty different from Quinn. Number 1, and I think I mentioned this already, this baby was much more planned than Quinn, and number 2, unlike with Quinn, I knew before I even missed my period I was pregnant. For a couple of days before it was due to come I felt like I had the flu, not full on awful flu, but I was achy and disconnected. For the first three months I had that low level nausea, but as long as I had food in my stomach I was all good (thus the 20 pounds I gained in the first three months, sigh). I've also been a little more tired with this one, however, the PhD program is much more intense than the masters program, and of course I have Quinn, so it's not like I can just nap whenever I want to. All this being said, this pregnancy has been good as well, nothing compares to the dream pregnancy I had with Quinn, however I can't complain about this one either. Like I said, as long as I ate I felt good, and I feel really good now. So, so far good and different, which I'm hoping means that everything is going well with this baby. We will find out on the 24th how everything is going. We have a level two ultrasound and fetal echo cardiogram scheduled that will show us in detail all of the inner workings of this baby. So......I'll keep you all posted. And at some point I will put up pictures of my already huge belly, another sigh!!! :)