5 weeks and HOME!

* Sorry wrote this Monday but didn't get it posted.  News is a little behind but that's how it goes with two littles at home. *

Well we sure didn't expect to be in the hospital 5 days out of the last 7, but I'm glad we were able to be there as long as Everett needed to be.  I took him to the ER around 3 a.m. Monday night, or well early Tuesday morning, I guess, and we headed home around 1 p.m. on Saturday.  And is it ever good to be home!  We ended up just having to wait for his little lungs to recover enough to make it through a night without having to turn the oxygen back on, which I'm totally grateful for... wouldn't have wanted to come home not knowing if he'd make it through the night without oxygen levels dropping!  We're quarantining ourselves in the house for one more week though, just because I don't want to risk exposing him to anything else. Until the Dr. has okayed him at the one week follow up, I'm afraid his coming down with a cold at this point, before his lungs are fully recovered, might send us right back to the hospital.

We're grateful for access to health care, for answered prayers, for recovering health, and for being home!

Here are his 5 weeks pictures in the yellow chair.  I forgot how hard it was to photograph an infant.  We have about 15 of him looking to the side.  No matter how hard I tried to get him to look at the camera, there was obviously something far more fascinating over his shoulder.



Then this ones kind of cute of him stretching.



Finally one looking at me... with CRAZY eyes. :)



And the one decent forward looking pic, unfortunately has red eye and I am no technological nor photography wizard that my husband is and therefore don't know how to fix that, AND with his little balding head, and his tongue sticking out... but newborns are always cute, right??  :)

Anyway, without further ado, Everett at 5 weeks. Most importantly, HOME.

What a month we've had!

I intended to start this post with the first four weekly pictures of Everett, celebrating his first month of life (which is still what this post will be) but what I did NOT expect was to be sitting here typing it in a hospital room with my little four week old guy lying next to me hooked up to oxygen and an IV drip while I wrote it.

Unfortunately he came down with a bad cold last Thursday (RSV, in fact, unbeknownst to us) which turned into a cough, which by Monday night had settled itself into his lungs and a nice case of pneumonia. After a scary, prayer-filled drive to the ER at 3 a.m. early Tuesday morning with a teeny tiny baby who was fighting to catch his breath, we're extremely grateful that God has indeed been gracious to us again!  Our prayers have been answered so immediately, as he's very nearly been weaned off the oxygen already and we're hopeful to head home tomorrow after only just fulfilling the mandatory 48 hour minimum they put on him upon admission!  Well, at least that's our hope, based on the reports we've been getting today!

We're not pleased, obviously, that our poor little guy is going through this so young, but to a certain extent we are grateful we've been through it before with Asher's hospitalizations (with RSV at 4 months and with pneumonia at 17 months) and kind of know what is going on and what to expect with a respiratory infection in the hospital.

So that said., let's celebrate his first month!


Here he is at 1 week...

My failed attempt to prop up a one week old. :)

2 weeks...  What a difference one week can make!  :) 

3 weeks...

4 weeks...  : (.

We technically didn't come to the hospital until the day AFTER his one month birthday (which just happened to be exactly four weeks because February is short) but we didn't get the picture taken on the day of and now we're no where near the yellow chair for a few days, so this will have to suffice unfortunately.  

Everett has been a huge joy and blessing in our lives.  I'm still adjusting to two and what that means in our daily routine, but he has done what he could to make it easy on me.  He's an awesome sleeper at night.  3 1/2 hours has been the minimum length between nighttime wakings and feedings, thus far!  Naps have been a little more stressful just trying to balance getting him settled somewhere semi-quietly while also not denying Asher too much attention when he's trying so hard to be patient and good.  I feel like I spend an hour trying to get him to sleep, and then an hour giving up on it while he chills and intermittently fusses and then finally puts himself to sleep.  I debate giving up the "trying" portion, but seriously should a newborn be awake for 2-3+ hour stretches and then absolutely crash for 3 hours?  Not sure about that one, but we'll get it figured out eventually, I'm sure.  Asher loves his little brother so much and has adjusted to him being around and needing mom's attention sometimes too... but it's still been a bit of a steep adjustment period for me.  I guess that has more to do with just their ages, and balancing things like disciplining and potty training, with newborn nursing and napping, and not feeling guilty for needing to love on and attend to one more than the other from time to time.   It'll settle down with time and experience, I'm sure... or at least I hope.  :)

Well I'd better go attend to my littlest.  We'd appreciate your prayers for Everett as he continues to heal. We're also extremely grateful for Grandma Anderson for driving three hours at a moment's notice to hang out with Asher this week... even though it's already her fourth or fifth time here since Everett was born four weeks ago.  She is a servant-hearted lady, that is for sure, and I'm so blessed to have her as my mom!

 

Feed the Birds

Thought you all might enjoy.  :)  

Welcome to the world, Everett Richard!

I should be sleeping right now, since both of my sons (I cannot get over the fact that I have TWO sons!) are currently napping and I only got four broken up hours of sleep last night... but napping is pretty much all I've been doing during every spare moment I could find for the last two weeks and my living room and kitchen are in complete disrepair (though that just happened in the last couple days since the grandparents left and I've been on my own), BUT not gonna deal with that now either, because my second child was born over two weeks ago and I still have not posted an introduction to my online "scrapbook" of a blog. 

So without further ado....

Introducing EVERETT RICHARD DOBBS!   :)    Born February 24th, 2014 at 8:30 p.m. at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines via successful VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)!!!  Weighing in at 9 lbs 4 oz and measuring 21 1/2 inches.  Welcome to the world, little guy!  We're so excited to have to you here!    

Sweet SUCCESS! :) 

Asher has adjusted remarkably well so far and after a couple days of learning to share mom and dad's time and attention, is now constantly kissing and hugging "his baby."  He talks to Everett like he understands everything, tries to gets Everett to play with him, gets excited whenever Everett wakes up from a nap, and thinks doing "tummy time" together is now the greatest thing ever!  :)  He most frequently is asking Everett "Whas your name?"  To which he answers himself after a few minutes saying "You Baby Everett?"

Crazy to think we're now a family of 4!

We've been blessed to have a revolving door of the grandparents coming and going, and coming and going, and coming and going...  for the first two weeks of his little life!   I cannot thank them enough for all the meals cooked, laundry washed, and babysitting provided, so I could sleep, shower, recover, and just overall adjust to having a newborn at home again, only this time around with a two year old as well, who of course wants to jump in bed with me at 6:30 every morning, no matter how much sleep I got the night before. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson

Everett Richard with his namesake Grandpa Richard!
(Asher Joseph was named for Grandpa Joey, who so far
has been unable to make it to see Everett, but will soon!)

Grandma Dobbs

             
We've been blessed beyond measure by our two sweet boys,  and while I've been teetering into a state of panic these last few "first days at home by myself" days, God has shown himself ever present and given me countless "saving" ideas that I know were not coming from anywhere in my sleep deprived brain.  Simple things like reading to Asher when Everett needed to nap in order to create a little calmer and quieter atmosphere just until Everett falls asleep (as he was having a hard time getting in to a deep sleep with Asher at full volume)... or just realizing that I could nurse Everett while I was putting Asher down for his nap rather than having to choose between delaying Asher's nap to feed Everett or leave Everett fussing while I put Asher down.  I feel like both of those ideas should have been obvious solutions, but they were some of the silly little things I was panicking over how to deal with, and so I'm crediting God for providing the necessary wisdom as I adjust to two little boys needs and schedules!

We're definitely feeling blessed, which pretty much sums it up.  I'm working on a birth story post and the first few weekly pictures of Everett that we'll get up here soon!  We've been taking the pics, just haven't gotten them posted.  :)   So anyway, here's hoping our newest arrival motivates us to a little more frequent blogging once more, but life is definitely in a constant state of adjustment for the time being.

Can't believe I forgot this! :)

So nobody probably cares... but since my daily life can hardly handle the mountains of dishes, laundry, and keeping a clear path through the tornado of toys in the living room (and it's a miracle if those even happen), it's a HUGE accomplishment that something like Asher's Room Re-decorate  (see yesterday's post) ever happen around here... and well, if I'm gonna show it off, how could I have forgotten the central DIY project I threw myself into (very SLOWLY over several months time) - THE DRESSER!  :)  

Here's the before...

 

I snagged this treasure at a garage sale for $10 last summer and it had obviously been sitting in a garage for some time.  Lots of mouse poop and dead spiders and junk in the drawers. I thoroughly scrubbed it ALL down with bleach (several times), sanded it, taught myself how to use wood putty (whether successfully or not), and primed it a coat or two, before the weather turned bad with the changing of the seasons and it was brought inside where Eric graciously painted it the three coats of red paint it required (so it didn't look pink!) and so I didn't fumigate the baby by painting indoors!    This dresser inspired the room colors, because don't ask me why but when I looked at it and asked it what color it wanted to be painted, it clearly answered me back with the words "bright red."  :)  

So anyway, without much more ado, here's a recap of how it turned out with a facelift, some love, and a bit of new hardware. :) 

 

I love how it turned out!  (Though it'll be months before anything else along these lines occur around here!)  :)

 

 

Asher's Big Boy Room

Okay, this post's a few months old now, but the little dude is sleeping, so I thought that since I am so often bragging on my little guy on here, I should make the time to do some bragging on my hubby too.    Besides, I totally need a break from all the laundry, dishes, cooking, "nesting", packing for the hospital, washing baby clothes, cleaning out the nursery, etc., etc., etc. that I normally try to cram into the hour and half nap Asher takes every afternoon.  Life at home is blessed for sure, but repetitive, no?

Anyway, I mentioned previously that we moved Asher into his big boy room on his birthday... it was in fact his birthday present from us... for while we attempted to D.I.Y. most of it, it's ridiculous how much paint, and lumber, and materials, and curtains, and sheets, and all that adds up when its not something you do often and have extras just lying around.  Regardless, I'm EXTREMELY proud of my husband's handiwork and his ability to bring my vision to life!  It's still a work in progress for sure, but I'm very pleased!  :)

So let's start with this awesome bit. 

 

I really wanted a corner toy cubby but could not find one like my brain was imagining for purchase so Eric offered to take on the challenge.  The little lift up cubby in the middle was a delightful surprise!  With a nice slow falling hinge so fingers don't get smashed.  Seriously I think this might be the first real piece of furniture my husband has ever built and I could not be more delighted!   

 

Secondly,  I wanted gutter book shelves, as seen ALL over Pinterest these days.  Asher loves reading and I wanted him to be able to see the front of his books so he doesn't feel the need to pull every book off the bookshelf in order to find the one he wants (so far success in that dept!).  Anyway, gutters it turns out are super cheap... end caps and corner caps - not so much.  So Eric used his newly found skills again and made me some wooden ones.  A second shelf is in the works to go above the one pictured, but life preparing for Christmas and then #2 on the way has me pulling him in other directions at the moment. :) 

 

 

 

As for the homemade "art" above the dresser, this is one of many wall decorations I'd eventually like in the room, I'm just still undecided about what else I want to do.  I thought about some wall vinyls, or something, but I also didn't want to do too much as I want to keep the room fairly easy to shift into a 10 year old boys room as he grows (think G.I. Joes in the toy cubbies, and chapter books on the "gutter" shelves) take down little boy prints and put up whatever interests my growing boy down the road.   But anyway, in my husbands terminology, "I digress." 

 

 

 Pretty simply, I bought some cheap stretched canvas at Walmart, painted it the solid background color with those little paint sample bottles you can buy when choosing a color, and then Eric freehanded, yes freehanded, the vehicles on a piece of cardstock which I cut out to be stencils and painted with leftover wall color.  Any credit for skill goes all to Eric... execution with it's imperfections are mine. :)  But I am non-the-less pleased.  We chose an "on the go" theme, as that is exactly what our little guy is.  But there was definitely some waffling as he also loves everything music, animal, and for some unexplainable reason - basketball.  :) 

 

 

Lastly, I couldn't help myself and splurged on this awesome car mat I found online.  He hasn't quite got the hang of it yet... (I don't think he "sees" the streets as streets) but I think it'll be something he enjoys for sometime down the road  (pun not intended, but we'll go with it.)  :) 

 

 

 

Anyway, we've still got some work to do (getting the 2nd bookshelf done and up, getting some organization in his closet  (don't judge, but half of it is still full of all Eric's guns and equipment from when this was the guest room... promise it's all VERY securely locked and safe!), etc, etc. BUT for the time being we've got other things prioritizing higher.  Only 20 days until the new little one's due to arrive... which really means anytime in the next 0 - 4 weeks.  Life goes on and laundry continues to stare me in the face from across the room so I better attempt to do something of normalcy before the little guy wakes. 

 

So far it's been well loved. :) 

 

 

Two years, can it be?

I give you Asher's last picture in the yellow chair, as is my trend - a couple weeks late. (And his first ones I took at two weeks... just 'cause I wanted to.)   For his birthday we moved him into his "big boy room" as we're keeping the nursery... well... the nursery for baby #2.   So in ten weeks time, hope we'll be posting pics of a new baby!  Cause seriously... when did this happen??? 

 

Man, a lot changes in two teeny little years! 

 

This is how Asher smiles anytime he sees a camera and says cheese.

And these are just sweet. 

I love you, little guy, more than I ever thought was possible.  At two, you talk ALL the time.  You're stringing 4-5 word sentences together.   You're super polite, overusing "thank you" and finally having figured out "please."  :)   We get so tickled when you say "good job, mommy" and "good job, daddy" over the silliest things like cutting up your food, or getting ourselves dressed.   And you're in a phase right now of asking us to "try" to do things in the sweetest little voice.  "Mommy, you try (to wash my face)."  Or come here, Asher, so Mommy can change your diaper ... "No, Daddy, try."  Like we haven't done it a hundred times before... :)   You know a few letters, most all your colors, a handful of shapes, and you count 1,2,3,4,9,10.  I may be biased, but I rather think you have a HUGE vocabulary!  A mom's allowed to brag a little, right?

You're in big time "do it myself/big boy mode".  (which tries mommy and daddy's patience to no end... but we're proud of your abilities to perform new skills by yourself too!) You want to dress and undress yourself, go up and down the stairs yourself, buckle yourself in, eat your food uncut, use "real" cups without a sippy lid, not wear a bib... we're hoping this mindset transfers over well when we attempt to start potty training this weekend! 

You amaze us with your ability to catch and throw balls, how much you love music and dancing (especially with mommy :) ), and your awareness of the baby in my tummy.  You pat it and talk to it, and tell me it is crying and then you tell him/her "it's okay, baby."  You also amaze me with how much you love seeing your friends and how many, many, many peoples' names that you know!

You crack us up by how sensitive you are to new textures and experiences.  While you'll FINALLY touch playdough and fingerpaint, I had to drag you outside the first time it snowed this year (and you still haven't worked up the nerve to touch it), and you wouldn't touch or taste the frosting on your birthday cake when we were frosting it, because it was too "sticky" and you kept having to wash your hands. :)  We love all your little quirks though.  Especially how much you love snuggling with your hands up our sleeves, as you are sleeping on my lap now.  I love these rare moments when you still will fall back asleep in my arms after a nap that wasn't quite long enough. :) I know I won't get to snuggle with you like this too much longer. 

What I'm still waiting for is for you to sing.  I'm sure you know some songs, but the only time I've heard you're sweet voice, you acted embarrassed and timid and wouldn't continue.   What a personality you already have!  

Cute things you've been saying lately: 

-When laying in bed you often ask for "something else"  as you often do when you are bored.  When I ask you what you need you just repeat "something else."  However, yesterday, when I asked what you needed, you answered "Jesus."  I know you were referring to the plastic one in your nativity set, but it was still sweet... and I still tried to tell you, at two, about how to ask Jesus in your heart.  :)

-When we were at the store buying a pizza crust, the clerk asked you what you were going to put on your pizza, and I genuinely did not expect you to answer her.  After several minutes, you smiled up at her and said "sauce."  :)



You are not perfect, and God is using you to make me more patient and self-sacrificial every day, like when you only nap for an hour most days, or when your little temper and independence flares, but I pray daily that God will soon be active in your little life as well, making us both into the people he wants us to be... so I don't get mad when you wake up earlier than I want you to, and so you will be transformed into the Man of God I pray you will be someday.  I love being your mommy, and I know your daddy desperately loves you too. 

We're so proud of you!  I could go on and on. 

Happy 2 years little guy!