Rock Star

Reed has been taking music classes at school. He has become our little rock star. Below is a video of "Five Little Freckled Frogs", the Reed Daniel version. In case you aren't a parent with small children, the lyrics are below. Enjoy.

By the way, he is holding a bath toy in his hand and strumming it while he sings. He told me it was his "giddar".

Five little freckled frogs,sittin' on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs.

Yum! Yum!

One jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool. Now there are four little freckled frogs.

Good Excuse

Sorry...no post yesterday because my computer is sick and is in the hospital. Its just as well...yesterday was one of those days where your two year old throw major fit because you couldn't read his mind and know that when he asked for milk...he really meant lemonade (even though you thought you were being a nice mom by fulfilling his milk request when you originally offered him water).... And one of those days when your pitifully sick one year old isn't quite his usual sweet self because the steroids he's on have taken over his body, attitude and vocal cords.

Back to work...more when my computer has recovered.

Brittany

Poor Baby

I had to take Gaines back to the doctor today. The poor little thing just did not seem to be feeling so well this morning. Basically he just has a cold that has triggered his asthma (gosh, go figure…Gaines has asthma…who’d have thought?). Usually a cold just has to run its course but with Gaines we try and be proactive. Because of his airways being tightened from the asthma flair up, fluid could get trapped in his lungs and it could turn into pneumonia (which I guess could have been the case with any of his colds) so he’s on a preventative antibiotic and a steroid…for whatever it is steroids do. Oh, and increasing albuterol treatments to every four hours during the day for a couple of days. Keep him in your prayers. I hate seeing him feel so bad. On the positive side, he gained 2 ounces in 2 days which is great. I swear we have the best pediatrician. He and his staff are just really great. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that their patient is so stinking cute.

Ok…now something about Reed. We were all in the car Saturday night and Gaines was just babbling away. Reed looked at him and said, “I not know what you’re sayin, Gaines”. And Gaines just babbles back at him and says something about “Dada”. Reed says, “I not know what you’re sayin. You want daddy? Daddy’s driving.” And on and on for the ride home.

Also, Beau took Reed to the bathroom at a restaurant this weekend and had him in the bathroom stall. As Reed is sitting there some other man comes in to use the urinal and Reed says loudly “Somebody else goin potty.” I think Beau waited it out before he and Reed made their exit.

So funny to me.

The Gaines

I missed posting about Gaines yesterday on his actual birthday but I've got a good excuse. The poor guy has been a little sick. He had a 101.8 fever Friday night so we took him in to the doctor Saturday morning. Turns out it was nothing major...just a little viral infection but he hasn't quite felt himself so he and I took ourselves a nice little rest yesterday afternoon.

Anyway, back to my birthday post about the Gaines (I like to call him The Gaines sometimes...I just think it suits him). His baby dedication was today at church and it was so great. It was awesome to be able to have Gaines in front of so many people that prayed for him. We also had lunch this afternoon with lots of family. I would have loved to have invited about 50 more people but we had to draw the line somewhere.

I've been thinking a lot about Gaines lately and the journey we've been on the last year with him. Last night he crawled from the den, up two stairs, through the living room, down the hall to Reed's bathroom. It wasn't so long ago that I was worried Gaines wouldn't be able to hold his head up on his own and now he's crawling all over the house. He has just come so far the last year. I mean, from a tiny little thing on a ventilator to a crawler that only needs a little help breathing.

People ask me all the time if the last year has just flown by. I want to laugh in their face. No-the last year has not flown by. Parts of it have been faster than others but early on there were some very long, very hard days. Not just when Gaines was still in the hospital...although that was loooong and there were many, many days that I just cried and cried because I didn't know how much longer I could hold out. But even when he first came home the days and weeks were long. I was so worried about his devleopment and wondering if he would be "normal". It was hard for me to just enjoy him and not always be analyzing him. That's hard enough, but you top it off with him not eating as well as he should and spitting up multiple times a day (spitting up puts it mildly...whenever I say Gaines spits up, I mean he vomits large quantities). There were many, many days that I cried once he was home. And there were days that I yelled at him and got frustrated and had to leave the room...and then I'd feel so guilty for not loving him enough. I think early on I resented him some. There I said it. I know it sounds awful but I did. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Gaines with all my heart but I couldn't live my life like I wanted to live it because Gaines couldn't go anywhere and Gaines required so much time, energy and money and Gaines was just SO much work...and I felt constant stress and worry about him not developing like he should. I faked it pretty well because I was supposed to be happy that he was finally home but it was a rough time for me.

I don't know what did it but I was able to finally snap out of it. I guess he just got easier and and started meeting some of his milestones and gradually I was able to relax and realize that he might not do things on my timeline, but he was doing them. I was able to actually enjoy him.

Lately Gaines has gotten so much fun. He's playing with toys and giving Reed a run for his money. He's got an attitude like you wouldn't believe. He is sweet as pie when he's doing what he wants to do but don't cross him. He was born with some fight him and its still there. There are times when I have to physically overpower him to get a bottle in his mouth. Or change his diaper. Or clothes or whatever I want him to do that he doesn't want to do.

But...he can be so sweet too. I love the way he grabs onto you when you pick him up. He just squeezes you and loves you. And he loves to laugh. He laughs at anything Reed does. He loves his big brother (and Reed tolerates him pretty well).

This past year with Gaines has been a roller coaster. We've had lots of dark, hard days, but we've also had lots of amazing ones raising two little boys. When I was on bedrest last year, one of the things that kept me going was bringing Reed home a little brother and the thought of being a mom to two little boys. It might have been harder than I'd thought (and required a little more equipment, medicine, effort, etc)...but we are doing it. It's been a crazy year but I could not be more thankful for it because it means we've got our little brother...and he's awesome.

Love to all,

Brittany

New Blogging Philosophy

I think I’m going to try and post one quick post everyday and maybe one good long one a week. Both boys are just changing so much and are so funny right now that I want to try and remember as much of it as I can. So…this is my attempt to do that.

Also, I think I’m going to try and be more the “real” Brittany on here and less of the “sugar-coated, people I work and go to church and pass in the grocery store read this” Brittany. Not that I’ve never been myself on here, (Hello, you’ve seen me at my lowest lows and highest highs this past year)…I just sensor myself some because it might not be appropriate to mention things that regularly come up with my children or because I'm afraid that people might take me the wrong way and think I’m a bad mom or don’t love my children or whatever. Or, you just might not get my sense of humor. Just ask Beau…it’s weird. Very few people actually do get it honestly. If I’m going to keep this blog up, I want it to be an accurate depiction of our life. I’ll try and ease y’all in. Here we go...

I took some medicine over to Reed today at lunch before his nap because this pollen is really getting to him and there was a note sent home yesterday that he coughed all through nap (just call me supermom). I walked in and squatted down next to him at the table and talked to him for a minute. He promptly told me, “I not ready to go home yet”. I say, “That’s fine, you can stay and play with your friends for a while” but in my head I’m thinking, “Good, cause I’m not taking you yet”. Anyway, as I’m there all the kids are eating lunch and they think of course think I’m super cool (as I'm sure they do any stranger that interupts their day) and are talking to me and what not but I notice that Reed is being really quiet. I think he was embarrassed that I was there. Like I was cramping his style or something.

While I was there his teacher told me they’d just had “Wobbler Idol” where they each get to get in front of the class and sing their favorite song into the “microphone”. Reed sang his ABC’s which is in direct contrast to what he told me his his favorite song was yesterday, “O’Donald”…or as you may know it, Old McDonald.

One other Reed thing that is too funny but a little of my venture into what may not be appropriate. This morning Reed woke up at 4:57. This is the norm but I'm desperately trying to un-do it so I put him back to bed and told him I'd be back in an hour. Fifteen minutes later I hear, "Daddy, I pooped" over and over. I finally get up and go check on him (as it was my morning with Reed) and walked in the bathroom where he sat. You'd think he'd be thankful that I was there to help him but all he says is, "I was calling Daddy". I cannot tell you how close I was to getting back into bed and telling Beau that Reed needed him. I might next time.

Gaines is starting to get an appetite again thank goodness! Please pray that it keeps up. We need to fatten that boy up! Today’s Gaines anecdote is a sweet one. Last night Reed was going to bed and he gave me a goodnight hug and kiss while I was holding Gaines so he kissed and hugged Gaines too (he doesn’t usually) and Gaines got the biggest smile on his face. He loves his big brother. Made my heart smile.

Sweet boys.

Stay tuned for a Gaines post tomorrow in honor of his birthday!

I’m out for now…Brittany

Random...

Let's see...what's been going on? Beau and I were able to get out of town for the weekend for the first time in...well I guess a year. We just went a couple of hours away to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear (LOVED it) but it was so nice to be able to have conversations and to not have a million things to do. I got to get a little (probably too much) sun at the pool so now I have a little pigment in my skin...which we can all be thankful for. I needed it badly. My parents came up and stayed with the boys...I think they enjoyed it.

Gaines has been having a problem with his reflux again so we've been dealing with that the last few days. I think I reported that in my last post but since then, its gotten better and then gotten even worse. My guess is that it's got something to do with his teeth coming in. The second one just broke through so I'm hoping it gets better soon. I got so frustrated with it all yesterday...I just feel so much pressure for him to gain weight and not only is he not doing great with it, he's doing pretty terrible. I think its (now bear with me...crazy talk about the devil here) the devil putting that in my mind so that I forget about all the progress that Gaines is making. He's doing great on his oxygen and developmentally he's doing awesome. Actually he pulled up to standing tonight (another milestone, check!)...so far he's done it 3 times so its not a fluke. I got off track there but the moral of the story is that I'm trying to focus on the positives rather than the not so positives...which only seems to be gaining weight at the moment.

Now that Gaines is a little more mobile with his crawling, big brother is having to learn to share "his" toys (of which, several belong to Gaines). I thought I might have to break up a fight over a dinosaur book tonight. We've also had a couple of instances of Reed watching cartoons in his little chair and Gaines crawling over to him and...get this...touching him...the nerve. Reed will sit perfectly still and call one of us in the room and say, "Gaines is touching me". If we ignore it and don't immediately move him, he'll tell Gaines, "Stop touching me Gaines!...Move Gaines!" And Gaines just laughs. He loves his big brother and deep down, Reed loves him too.

What else...Gaines' baby dedication is this Sunday...the day after his first birthday. I think the date is very fitting as he was originally dedicated in the hospital on the day he was born when they didn't think he was going to make it. I kind of feel like this is him coming full circle. His dedication is at the 11:00 service at our church and we are having brunch for our family afterwards.

But speaking of birthdays...can you believe that Gaines is going to be one on Saturday. It blows my mind. I'll have to do a special post dedicated to that but wow...a whole year of Gaines and all that's come with him.

I stayed home from work today because Kristen was sick and couldn't keep Gaines. It was kind of nice being a stay at home mom for a day. I'm pretty worn out but I got SO much done. My house is spotless at the moment but I bet it doesn't last very long. Either way, its a good feeling. A clean house with windows open and two sleeping boys. Life is good.

I guess that's about it for now. After all my scurrying around today, I'm going to relax.

Love to all,

Brittany

Happy Birthday Beau

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, wonderful husband.

You all may remember that Beau celebrated his 30th birthday last year in DC. Thankfully, we will be celebrating 31 here at home.

Beau is the best husband that anyone could dream of but I think his best quality is how wonderful of a father that he is. I am so thankful that my boys have such a wonderful role model in their lives.

We love you Beau! Happy 31!


Brittany and Boys

Tooth

So...guess who's got a tooth? Well, all of us I guess...but now that includes Gaines! You can't see it too well yet but you can definitely feel it. He's had a pretty good week the past week except with his eating. He's kind of been on strike and spitting up whatever he decides to eat...yes, the reflux is back. No idea what got into him but we started back on the breathing treatments in case there is something in that medicine tied to his appetite. Anyone got any ideas on this? I love that they day we hear he needs to gain weight, he goes on an eating strike. I'm this close to "medicating" him with some sweetened condensed milk 3 times a day for some extra calories.

Reed has been great this week too. In between a couple of tantrums that is. He is really such a good child and has not really been into this "terrible twos" business...until this past week. In he last couple of days he's thrown two fits that just came out of no where and were over the craziest things. One, because he couldn't decide if he wanted to run to the grocery store with Beau so Beau finally left him and the other, because he didn't want to leave school when I picked him up one afternoon. Both times it was constant crying and screaming, "I want to gooooo...I want to gooooo...sob sob sob...." or "I want to stay here....I want to stay here..." Falling out in the floor and everything. I ignored the one at home but didn't know what to do when he did it at school. I pretended to just leave him but he called my bluff and I had to go pick him up. Also, I wasn't sure if the other mothers were looking at me with a "Way to be strong" look or a "Do something with your child" look. One of them said, "Is he two?" How could you tell?

I'm sure those will not be the last tantrums I see out of Reed and I'm a little afraid of what is to come with Gaines. That boy has a temper. To say he's spoiled is putting it mildly. I guess the world (at least our world) has kind of revolved around him the last year so I guess it makes sense but wow...that child will let you know when he's less than pleased with you. Just try walking out of the room if he doesn't want you to. And don't even try to change his clothes. He won't have it.

I guess that's about it for now. I just realized that this kind of turned into a post about the flaws of my children. Sorry...just keeping it real I guess. As crazy as they drive me sometimes, I promise...I really do love them. Especially now that they are both asleep. Love me some sleeping babies and a still house.

One quick thing, speaking of driving me crazy. I told Reed this week (when he decided that it was hilarious to not wear his pants) that he drives me crazy sometimes. He said, "I dub (love) to drive you crazy".

Love to all,

Brittany

Beautiful

Happy Easter! We are about to start our mad dash to get ready for church but first HAD to share these pictures. A friend with an incredible gift for photography (and taking pictures of children!) very generously offered to take some pictures of Gaines for us. Here's the link to the first three he sent us. I LOVE them.

I hope I can get this to work. There is probably an easier way but this is the best I can do. You know I'm not so computer savvy.

Go here:

www.britsnapphotography.com

Then scroll to the bottom of that page and click the facebook logo. Once the facebook page is up you can see the note Gaines-God's Miracle. Click on that and you can see three of the pictures that Martin took yesterday. I'd highly recommend him for anyone in the area wanting pictures done of their kids. He even got Reed to stand still for a few!

Happy Easter and Love to all,

Brittany