Garrett Thomas was born Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8:01 a.m. at St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, CO. Gman weighed in at 8 lbs, 1.5 ounces, 20.5 inches long, big boy for being a week early. He has a head of dark hair and blue eyes. He was a little jaundice, so we stayed an extra night at the hospital so he could tan under the bili lamp. Otherwise, he is a healthy little boy. Healthy and very hungry. The first couple of days home I felt like I was feeding him every hour on the hour for an hour. It wasn't quite that bad, but it was close. At the hospital his weight dropped to 7 lbs, 6 oz, which is normal, but was also due to the fact that his jaundice made him lose his appetite a bit. By his Doctor appointment on Wednesday (at 6 days old) his weight had already gone up to 7 lbs, 13 oz. He grew a half inch, to 21 inches. We go back to Doc this Friday.
A few funny things:
When he gets really excited about eating he starts to snort, like a little piggy.
He seems to really like to snuggle. When we hold him up on our shoulder, he likes his head to touch ours. If we move ours away, he moves his to get it to touch ours again.
Right before we left the hospital, we were changing his diaper and while the diaper was off, he shot off some pee above his head and hit the back of the crib. It hasn't stopped there...I have had the worst luck. He had some projectile poop the other day after I removed the diaper. While I was in shock at what had just happened, he peed all over himself and continued to poop some more. I'm working on being quicker and more prepared.
Big Sister, Casey, had a blast with Grandma Gail and Grampa Tom while
we were in the hospital. Keeping them busy with her last swim lesson
and school. Grandma and Grampa took her swimming at the rec center and
to the Breckenridge Children's Museum. Casey got very excited when her
Aunt Kel arrived after we got home from the hospital. Thanksgiving Day
morning, Grampa, Daddy and Aunt Kel took Casey skiing at Keystone. She
seemed to enjoy herself and progressed a little, learning pizza
(snowplow) and french fries (skis straight). She starts group lessons
this Wed. Friday the whole crew went tubing at Frisco Adventure Park,
while me and Garrett took pix. Grandma, Grampa and Aunt Kel left this
morning, much to Casey's dismay. She was not ready for them to leave
and told us a few times throughout the day. Thanks you guys for all of
your help!!
After having a scheduled c-section, which went well, I am doing
well, though the incision is still a little sore. I'm trying to take it
easy.
Thanks for all the well wishes from everyone. Hope everyone
enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving. We'll try and keep the blog updated as
much as we can. Enjoy the pix!
Garrett on oxygen, pretty normal up here at 9100 ft above sea level
It's the day before I go in for a c-section, so I figure I owe Casey one last post before she has to share the blog.
Grandma Gail and Grampa Tom arrived here Monday after a 3 day drive
across country, to help out with Casey and baby boy. Casey has been
loving the attention. They went skiing today with Stan while Casey is
in school.
As for Casey, she has been doing really well with swim lessons. Last Thursday, she went underwater during lessons and then again after lessons. She says she is ready to move up to the next class. Grandma and Grampa will take her to her last lesson tomorrow.
We had a parent/teacher conference at her school yesterday. Casey got rave reviews for her listening skills, language, cognitive and gross motor skills. She is very shy when it comes to socializing and participating in group activities. However, she has gotten better now that she goes to school 3 days a week.
That's about all for now. We'll have news tomorrow about Baby Boy!!
Casey was a black cat for Halloween. For the most part, a tail-less black cat. The tail velcroed onto the outfit and for some reason, she was not a fan of it. She would hold onto it while it was on and if she needed to use her hand, she would take the tail off. She did let me paint a nose and whiskers on her, after the first dressing up. And didn't want me to wash the make up off her. Sunday she wore the painted face from noon - bedtime. Pretty durable paint too!
Friday was trick or treating with her daycare through the town of Dillon, then back to the daycare for more treats. Saturday, we carved pumpkins in the morning before the VT game, then in the afternoon we all went to our neighbor, Connor's b-day party. Sunday, we went to Silverthorne "Pumpkin Patch" for a free pumpkin, then trick or treating at the Outlets. Monday, we headed to Frisco's main street for trick or treating at the local businesses, stores and restaurants. The hit of Halloween was Stan's horse head!!
Other than that, we've just been getting ready for baby. 2 more weeks!!
Another 2 weeks in the books and we've been busy. Stan has been working hard on finishing Casey's new room. The paint, trim and baseboard are done and he just finished sanding and staining the furniture. Casey is very excited about her room, but still a little confused about baby moving into her current room. We have pulled out most of the baby stuff and Casey has had fun going through it all and playing with it. "Mommy, I want to be a baby again." This was said while going through 0-6 month clothes.
Oct 12 Casey's preschool took a field trip to Miller Farms in Plattesville, CO. It was a 2 hour bus ride and Mom decided to chaperone the trip. The tractors pulled our big wagon through the farm and we got to pick and bring home carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans, corn and pumpkins. It was a LONG day, but very fun experience.
We've been going to the bike park every weekend and run into at least one of Casey's classmates every time. School is going great. She is wonderful at drop off and is much more outgoing with everyone at school. We try and ask questions about school when we pick her up and a lot of times it's, "I don't know" or "No, we didn't do that" even though it says they did on the board. Then after a little bit, she'll tell us a story about school or bring up the book they read or start singing a song from class. Casey also started session 2 of swim lessons. She is still being stubborn about going under water, but seems to enjoy class. She's very excited about wearing her new Halloween bathing suit and goggles this week, that Grandma Gail sent her. Thank you:)
Baby boy is scheduled to arrive on November 17th, a scheduled c-section. He is still moving constantly and seems like he's ready to get out now. My friends, Kathy and Sarah, threw me a surprise baby shower this past Sunday, so we are now definitely set for baby. Thank you!!
Casey wants to wish her Uncle Stuart a very Happy Birthday!!
We're expecting a big storm tonight and into tomorrow...we'll see.
We got our first snow of the season on Saturday. Though it wasn't 3 feet like they got in Wolf Creek, or even the 5-10 inches they had called for, we did get more than just a couple inches in our yard. It's pretty much melted now, but it's still in the mountains and the mountains are making snow, so snowboard/ski season is close!
It's been a couple weekends since I last posted, so we will close down September and move into October. We fit in a zoo visit before September was over. The animals were out and frisky. We got to ride the carousel...which Casey decided we should ride on the polar bears. Of course, mommy's polar bear ended up being the highest animal on the ride, seriously. Great for an 8 month pregnant lady to crawl up on.
The town of Frisco just opened a free bike park, so we headed over there the first weekend of October with Kathy, Sean, Dillon and Connor. They have a great kid track with little bumps and turns. The kids loved it and were pros by the end, check out the pix and video. That Sunday we had a "camp out" in the backyard with Sean, Kathy, Dillon and Connor. We played washers and grilled dogs over the fire pit. The kids played horseshoes and in the sandbox and helped grill the dogs...until the rain started. We moved the party indoors and made s'mores in the oven.
Casey started attending school an additional 2 mornings. So now she goes Mondays and Fridays from 8:30 - 12:30 and Wednesday all day. Within the first week, she was a whole different person at drop off. She now walks right into her room and goes off with her teachers. She has a great time at school and the teachers love her. They say she plays well with all the toys, loves to read books and listens very well. We just need to work on her social skills at the moment. She's kind of a loner in the classroom. Her class is mostly boys. There may be 1, at most 2 other girls who she sometimes plays with. She talks about all the kids at home, so we're hoping the 2 extra mornings will help her become a more social player:) But otherwise, she is loving school.
Casey finished up her first session of swim lessons and did really well. She floats on her back with a little support, can push off the side/bottom and glide (with her head up). She has gotten very independent in the water and even dunks her head a little bit. She doesn't completely go underwater yet, especially during class, but after the last class, she showed me that she wants to while playing with one of her friends. She just quickly dunks her face to about her forehead. She starts the next session (same level) next Thursday.
This weekend we had 2 birthday parties to attend. The first was for 2 boys from her preschool. After Casey finally warmed up, she had a great time eating and playing. The second one was in Denver at Monkey Business for Lainey and MaKenna, our friend's twins who were turning 5. We then went over to their house to watch football and play. Casey had tons of fun with all of their toys!
Casey has learned to go across the monkey bars on her own, as long as they are the smaller ones, closer to the ground. She can swing completely on her own too, when she wants to. On the backyard playground swings, she can get herself started on her own and get going pretty high.
Casey is still our little 3 year old, testing us on everything. Talking back and trying to negotiate everything. But she is getting better and says the funniest stuff. She likes to tell in depth stories and has quite a few facial expressions...which she must get from her Aunt Kelly.
Enjoy the pix!
Casey and Rowan watching the Harbor Seals get their medicine and get fed
The carousel...do you see the bear on the right...that's mine.
On the way to the bike park...don't they kind of look alike?!
shredding at the bike park
riding the bumps
tearing up the drop in
Kathy, Tracy, Casey and Dillon grilling some dogs
Stan, Sean and Connor grilling the rest of the dogs in the rain
Dillon, Casey and Connor playing in the sand before the rain
decorating for Halloween
we did not get video of her going all the way across, of course, but she did make it all the way one time.
This past weekend, Stan took Casey camping with some friends in Telluride, while I stayed home for some relaxation and to host book club. It was quiet and a bit eerie in the house all alone, but was very nice to have no responsibility for a couple days before Baby Boy comes in a month and a half. Stan, Casey and Frisco left Friday morning and camped right outside of Telluride in the pop up camper on Friday night with our friends, Ken and Stacy and their 3 year old, Isaac. Saturday they went into Telluride to play on the playground and watch the VT game. They stayed in a hotel in the Village that night, so they got to go swimming in the hotel pool and got to ride the gondola from the Village into town for dinner. They got home Sunday evening, both exhausted. Casey went to bed at 5:30 and didn't get up until 8:00 the next morning.
Casey is doing great in her swim lessons. Still no face underwater, but she is getting more independent in the water and seems to enjoy the lesson now. Yesterday, Casey had school pictures. Her fake smile was kind of funny this year. She squints her eyes and does a funny grin. Hoping we'll get at least one good one! She seems to be more comfortable with her school. The past few weeks, drop off has gone much more smooth with her new full time teachers. She starts going Monday and Friday mornings next week, which we all think will help her develop independence even more. She always has fun at school and enjoys telling us stories about her day at dinner.
As for 3 year old behavior...At the moment, we are working on back talk. She is testing us constantly throughout the day. She wants to negotiate everything and when things do not go her way, she lets us know that she is not happy with a lovely tone of voice or crying fits. Needless to say, it's been an exhausting phase for all of us. Hoping it will pass by sooner than later.
Casey went bowling for the first time this week. Saturday night we took her bowling with Sean, Kathy, Dillon and Connor. Though the kids were more interested in pushing the balls around the ball return, they did play a full game and were pretty good. The adults played their own game and pregnant me came out the winner!!
The rest of the weekend was spent watching the Hokies beat Arkansas State and preparing Casey's new room. Stan has been working hard painting the walls yellow and changing out the baseboard and trim. Casey even helped out with painting. She is very excited about her new room!
As for the rest of the week...Casey had her second swim lesson on Thursday. Still hasn't gone underwater, but she was jumping in to the teacher and getting her face wet and it didn't bother her at all.
Casey has become very opinionated and independent lately. She always has to pick out her own pajamas at night and underwear in the morning and really likes to choose what she is going to wear that day too. She likes to wear dresses and/or comfy pants (as Stan would say...I've created a monster). She also likes to choose her breakfast. If it's cereal, she comes into the kitchen, opens the pantry, picks her cereal, her bowl and her spoon, then gets up into her stool to eat.
She has become more and more verbal too, if you can imagine. She talks with her hands now and likes to try and have conversations.
"So Mommy...what are you doing today?"
On her pretend phones, "So, yea, I'm just playing with my cars. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, uh huh, yeah, well, i gotta go."
As for baby boy, he is doing well. He is constantly moving and kicking and hiccuping and making sure I know at all times he is in there. Casey still likes to call him a her, but also calls him her baby and is very excited about sharing certain toys and books with him when he comes out of mom's belly.
We didn't take too many pix this week, but enjoy the few we did take.
showing off her newly painted room
helping daddy paint
getting ready to bowl
actually watching her ball go down the lane...pretty sure it was a strike
connor, dillon and casey pushing the balls around the track
