A Short Conversation With A 4-Year-Old
16 May 2012 4 Comments
This morning I asked Andy if he wanted to get dressed. Here is the conversation that followed:
Andy: Where are we going? (Apparently we are going somewhere if we have to get dressed.)
Me: Crazy
Andy: We are going to crazy?
Me: Yep. You wanna go to crazy?
Andy: Do we have to drive there?
Me: Yep. You are driving mommy to crazy.
Andy: But I’m too little to use a car.
Me: You don’t need a car to drive mommy to crazy.
Andy walked away confused but happy to be going somewhere, anywhere. If he’s anything like his mom and dad, though, he will soon understand the art of sarcasm.
Andy: Four Years Old
15 May 2012 Leave a Comment
Josh saw this photo and thought Andy was sitting on a toilet. This was the best smile of the bunch though and since I get the cheap package from Walmart, I have to take what I can get.
Andy turned four years old on May 5th. We had a party for him and Calin, who turned 3 this year, together. For months, whenever we asked Andy what he wanted for his birthday he would say Buzz Lightyear. He shared that with everyone he met too. We did not disappoint because Andy got his Buzz Lightyear. I think he expected it! 
He sleeps with it and takes it almost everywhere we go. He even plays out Buzz scenes in the Toy Story movies with his stuffed Woody.
It was finally time for Calin and Andy to open presents after asking approximately 864 times.
Andy was all business when he opened Buzz. It was time to get busy and play!
We gave Calin a new (to him) bike. Actually we bought it for Andy but ended up getting him a different bike so we gave this one to Calin.
At four years old Andy is 38 pounds (75%) and 42 inches (92%) tall. He is a talker and a singer and loves to ride his bike and scooter outside especially with the neighbor kids. He still enjoys playing with his Cars cars and Thomas trains and he is very into watching Curious George. He keeps us laughing all day long with the funny things he says and does. Like pronouncing girls as “grirls” (think squirrels) and trying to be just like his favorite person, Josh. He loves Luke and wants to hug and kiss him all the time. He delights in simple things and will play with just about anything. He’s creative and a problem-solver and a little stubborn too. We love him sooo much and can’t believe he is already four!
Happy birthday, big boys!
*Special thanks to Josh for taking photos during the party!
Lukas: Two Months Old
15 May 2012 Leave a Comment
Lukas is two months old today. He weighs 14.3 pounds (85%) and is 25 inches long (99%). Luke’s little personality is starting to come alive. He smiles and coos which helps me get through his frequent fussy times. Right now I’m the one he smiles at the most but I think that will change soon when he becomes more aware and enamored with his big brothers. Lukey loves to be held and he loves to eat. He’s my little chunky monkey.
Luke seems to enjoy looking at the various pictures we have hanging on the wall. He will also watch his toys and mobiles. He will just stare at them kicking his legs and waving his arms around. Andy can keep him entertained for a while too which helps when I need to take a shower. Sadly, Luke is fighting his first cold.
Lukas: One Month Old
15 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
Lukas is one month old today, April 15th.
Already.
When did that happen?
We don’t see his pediatrician for another month but at his two-week appointment Luke had gained back the weight he lost after birth plus some and he had grown an inch. He is quickly growing out of his newborn clothing and has been in size 1 diapers since he was about 3 weeks old. He is one healthy little guy evidenced by his newly formed double chin.
Luke nurses well and eats about every 2-4 hours around the clock depending on the time of day. I am so glad that we have been able to successfully establish breastfeeding right away. We will be able to introduce the bottle soon since I will be returning to work and so Chris can help with feedings too.
Luke is slowly establishing a loose sleeping schedule although he still has his nights and days reversed. He is awake for a little while in the morning after getting out of bed. He also has a longer awake period in the evening before bed time. Luke is a very noisy sleeper which makes it difficult as a parent to get any sleep when he is in the room. He grunts and groans and squeaks so much and so loud that we have been putting him in our master closet at night. I can still hear him if he cries but the other noises are muffled a bit and I can get a little sleep in between feedings and diaper changes.
As for me, I am severely sleep deprived. I am so exhausted that I feel a bit tipsy, like I drank a little too much wine with dinner, like the world is slightly spinning. I guess I forgot just how brutal having a newborn is and although I don’t want this time to pass by too quickly, I’m hopeful these sleepless, fussy newborn days will be a distant happy memory soon. Even though there have been frustrating moments, I am enjoying having a new baby and gazing into his eyes and inhaling the very scent of heaven. I love all his facial expressions and sleepy stretches. I am in love and so glad we have little Lukey in our lives.
Silly Andy
13 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
Recently Josh went to a birthday party at a local movie theater. I’m not sure what the movie was but it was shown in 3D and these were the glasses given to the kids. Josh popped out the lenses and Andy thought they were fun and wore them around for a couple of days. I think he makes an adorable nerd!
With the unusually warm temperatures in March this year, we have already had a few thunderstorms. Andy took out his Cars raincoat and umbrella and played in the rain one evening. Until the lightning flashed. Then he hightailed it back into the house faster than, well, a lightning bolt. He wasn’t messing around with that!
The week that Luke was born was Spring Break for both Chris and Josh so I planned a few family fun activities for the week. The day I went into labor was the day for a buffet and some bowling at Treasure Island Resort and Casino. Andy got to bowl all by himself. He would heft the ball to the lane, gently place it on the floor, and roll it with all his might. It was so cute!
Andy is obsessed with his Cars toys so I thought he would like to watch the Indy 500. He was riveted and cheered for car #10! Until he noticed other numbers then he would cheer for those too. He recognized some of the sponsor logos and his favorite car changed several times in the one hour that we had the race on. There were a couple of crashes early on and Andy was both concerned and excited. He repeatedly explained to me the crash using hand gestures and sound effects but then would ask me if anyone got hurt. Probably like most of us would respond.
Near the end of my pregnancy I would ask Chris to take photos of my ever-growing belly. Andy posed for pics, too, holding his invisible baby belly just like mommy. Have I mentioned that his baby’s name was Despicable Me for pretty much my entire pregnancy? So funny!
Andy loooves bath time and some times ends his bath with a “nap” in the bathtub. He thinks it’s so fun to lay down in the water and if the tub is too full he’ll drain just enough water to keep it off his face.
During our stay at the birth center after delivering Lukas, my parents brought my big boys to visit. My brother and sister-in-law came to visit with their kids too. At some point my nephew Calin, who is 2, and Andy were discussing where they were visiting among all the other conversations going on. They caught our attention when we heard their pronunciation of the word hospital.
Matt: Calin, where are we?
Calin: At the hospibibal.
Andy: No! At the hosipal!
We laughed at Calin’s pronunciation of hospital but when Andy “corrected” him with yet another wrong pronunciation we just died!
I just love my silly Andy!
Easter 2012
11 Apr 2012 1 Comment
We went to the annual Prescott Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday where Andy got to find a few eggs for his Easter bucket.
Andy was so good to just pick up a few and leave the rest of the eggs for all the other kids, many of whom were smaller than him. He also humored us and posed for photos.
After the egg hunt the kids got to choose a toy. Andy chose a monster truck for the second year.
Bob and Barb visited us for Easter and to meet Lukas. Barb brought these Easter baskets and I supplemented them with the candy that I had already bought. Andy was so excited about his Cars and Josh liked his football and water toys.
We went to my parents' church for their Easter Sunday breakfast and service. It was cold but sunny and this is the best photo I got of the eight cousins.
Lukas got a stuffed bunny and I get to eat his candy.
Barb bought Bob a stuffed Darth Vader with bunny ears and Bob was kind enough to leave it for Andy.
A Birth Story: Lukas Urban
10 Apr 2012 2 Comments
It all began the night of Wednesday, March 14th when I woke up at 10:30 after only an hour of sleep with extremely warm feet and legs. Weird, I know. I was annoyed and tried almost everything to cool down including wrapping my feet in a cold wash cloth. I tossed and turned for a couple of hours until around 12:30 when I was raging mad and decided to go outside in the middle of an unseasonably warm but still cool March night in Wisconsin. I was that hot and that mad and I needed to get to sleep because my alarm was going to go off at 4am for another day of work and I needed to cool down right now. Chris was still up working on things and wasn’t quite sure what to do with me.
After a few minutes I went back to bed and noticed I was experiencing some fairly regular cramping. I watched the clock for a while and the cramps seemed to be about every two minutes lasting 45-60ish seconds. At 1:30am I downloaded a contraction timer app on my iPhone which confirmed the timing. At 2:30am I woke Chris up and told him I thought I was in labor. I wasn’t convinced though but Chris urged me to call the birth center anyway. Then I spoke to my midwife, Liz, and decided to head in. After another phone call, my parents were on their way over so Keith could stay with Josh and Andy while my mom went with us to the hospital. I took a short shower and packed up some things all the while thinking surely the contractions would stop any minute. I still wasn’t convinced I was in labor, even though the contractions were stopping me in my tracks, and I was really worried that I was inconveniencing a lot of people at that hour of the night for nothing.
We left for the hospital at 3:30 and arrived at 4am. I know that because as I was walking down the hall to the birth center, my wake-up alarm on my phone went off. I was soon ushered into a room, checked, and my cervix was dilated 3-4 centimeters. Kristi, the nurse, didn’t seem too convinced either. I guess my calm demeanor threw her off. I was progressing, though, and by 6am I was 6-7 centimeters dilated. Liz came in, started running the water in the tub, and went to get my chart from the clinic. Before I knew it, the contractions were strong and coming very fast and Chris had to call for help. Liz came running down the hall at the sound of the call button and with the help of two nurses, Kristi and Annette, they got me in the tub.
My water broke immediately and I let my body just do its job. Lukas Urban was born just a couple of minutes later at 7:07am, Thursday, March 15th. He weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 inches long, my smallest baby. I caught him with Liz’s help and pulled him up out of the water onto my chest. He cried and cried and then frantically sucked on his hands, his head bobbing back and forth, rooting. I made a conscious effort to take in what I was feeling physically as well as emotionally as I studied my baby’s face.
I learned from my last two births that time stops for nothing and each minute that passes makes him another minute older. I knew I needed to take the time to memorize the moment and I’m glad I did. I will never forget it. Not that I have forgotten when Josh and Andy were born but I didn’t take in the specific feelings and now that fleeting moment is gone. I sat in the warm tub for a while holding my newborn and waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsating. When the last of the nutrients and oxygen were delivered to Lukas, Chris cut the cord and I returned to the bed to nurse a hungry baby. We settled into our stay at the birth center and took our new baby home a couple of days later.
Since we’ve come home we have been getting to know Lukas. We prayed for a happy, content baby and he is a lot of the time. We are learning his cries and what he needs by the sound of them. We are pretty exhausted but so in love with our new little guy!
Labor Cake
12 Mar 2012 1 Comment
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