Growing Pleasures

So finally I have a moment to give an update on Lyla and Cole. First I need to catch up from Jefra and Cannon's visit last week. Cole really enjoyed having a playmate. We had the cutest video of Cole "talking" to Cannon on the stairs but alas, I accidentally deleted it so this one will have to suffice. It's cute just not as funny as the other.



Hopefully, they are coming again next week. Cannon had a scary bout with croup last week so if he is all better then they will be here. So hopefully I'll have more fun videos of the two playing. In this picture Cole was showing Cannon this book but I failed to capture the moment exactly. Oh well, they are still cute together!


Cole really, REALLY wants to play with Lyla. He offers her his food, he tries to run cars on her belly and head, he tries to give her his golf club, etc. Sometimes by the end of the day Lyla has been so bugged by her brother she cries when he comes close. But mostly he just loves to kiss her. He is just like his daddy and does it over and over and over again. It is the most adorable thing ever.

She actually slept a lot during the day yesterday so he hadn't seen much of her. In the evening he kept asking where she was. (He didn't know where she was because we moved her bassinet into the downstairs bathroom so we can't hear her when she lets out little yelps or is settling down at night. Is that weird? Yes. But it works.) I kept telling him she was sleeping but he wanted to see so I brought him to her. He then insisted on kissing her and touching her. So sweet!

We tried going for a walk outside with Cole in the stroller and Lyla in my Beco baby carrier. Well, Lyla didn't like that one bit. She wanted to be free. So we headed home and while Cole played in the front yard I put Lyla in the stroller just to sit, and WOW she loved that.


Cole and I often go play outside in the late afternoon while Lyla sleeps. We have about 100 yards or so before we are out of range for the baby monitor so we go everywhere in that amount of space. Cole loves to play in the backyard but really loves the front yard (aka: the street). So I am teaching him to hold mommy's hand if he wants to go further than the sidewalk. He is funny because he has no problem holding my hand UNTIL we get to the street then he struggles to break free. My little explorer.


Lyla is such a joy and seems easy compared to what Cole was like at this age. She has a little reflux which is what makes her cry out sometimes in the middle of sleep (hence the move to the bathroom). I got medicine for her yesterday. The doc says cutting out dairy might help too but I really don't want to have to have my second child on soy if I can help it so I'm drinking milk in hopes her system will adjust. We'll see. But she is a good sleeper. She goes 4-5 hours between nighttime feedings. Day feedings are anywhere between 2-4 hours. Her awake periods last anywhere from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours. And she is WIDE awake during those times. I think I've gotten her used to the fact that mommy doesn't play at night so just go back to sleep. Yea! And I think our little girl is keeping those baby blue eyes. The odds of having blue eyed children were against us but I think we may have a winner!


You'll notice a little peeling on her arms and hands. It's actually all over her body. It doesn't make for pretty pictures so hopefully it all comes off soon. I've a horrible habit of trying to peel it off while she's nursing. Our 2 week check up was yesterday and she is a whopping 7lbs 15oz. Usually babies are barely back to birth weight by then. Like I said, she's a BIG eater. Fine by me since it induces lots of sleep. :-) She's also grown 3/4 of an inch and is now 20.75 inches. That puts her about 70th percentile for length and 50th for weight. So she is slender for her length. She definitely has her Grandma Solotes fingers and nails. They are dainty and beautiful and I think of her Grandma every time she holds onto my fingers.


Rick has been so helpful these past weeks. It is easier for him to stay home during the day on account of his work schedule and needs at the country club, so he has been getting up with Cole and feeding him so I can sleep in a little or take care of Lyla. He'll watch Cole until he goes down for his nap at 10 or 10:30. This has been so awesome. I love to watch him with Cole. He is such a fun dad. He adores Lyla and his tenderness for her just oozes out of him. I love my little growing family!

Baby Lyla and Cole

Sorry I didn't get around to updating the blog as soon as I would have liked. My mother has been here until today which meant any free time I had I was forced to take a nap. Although I have been anxious to share my little one with friends and family, I'm glad I napped. But my sisters have done a nice job of posting updates.

So for pictures of Lyla's baby shower go to Kylene's Blog HERE

For pictures of my new niece, Ally Jordan, born 3 days after Lyla, you can go to Kylene's Blog HERE or to Jefra's Blog HERE. I haven't seen Ally yet but we are planning a trip to Cedar Park this weekend to see friends and family and get the two cousins acquainted. My aunt pointed out today that the two girls have the same letters in their first name - how cute!

Well, Cole has been doing so well with Lyla. He obviously likes her and is interested in her but gets a little jealous when he sees her with mom a little too much (like during feedings). He has wanted to be swaddled like her and has often tried to move her and lay where she was lying. I'm assuming this is to get the same attention she got. Here are a couple of videos of Cole checking out this new baby.





We were switching Cole to one nap but he just isn't ready. He was cranky and waking in the middle of the night. So the past three days he has had two naps, or one nap and quiet time in the afternoon, and he is back to my happy baby and sleeping through the night.

Jefra and Cannon arrived this afternoon and we are so excited to have them here. Cannon has grown so much in just the month we have been here. Cole still isn't sure about this other baby playing with his toys. He just watches him cautiously. At least he isn't yanking them from him or hitting him or anything.

And finally here are a few pictures of our precious bundles.

Day 2 of Life:

Learning to play golf:

And already frustrated:

Relaxing

Daddy Time:

Big Brother & Baby Sis:

Lovely Sleep:

With two children I oddly feel like we have a real family, like we were just playing house or something before. Isn't that weird? I love having us all together!

Welcome Baby Lyla!

So Monday, February 22nd, came and went without any baby coming. Because Cole had arrived 2 1/2 weeks early, I was now getting anxious for little Lyla to be here too. I had random contractions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but nothing steady or timeable. That is what was getting annoying. My Aunt had been given some caster oil by a friend of hers that swears by it after having 10 kids. I was feeling so exhausted Thursday that I thought for sure the contractions would start. When they hadn't by about two in the afternoon, I told my aunt to go ahead and make me a Caster Oil Smoothie. Believe it or not it was really quite tasty (good job Auntie B!) and then I sat and waited. It took a few hours before I realized I was quite bloated but nothing else.

At 7:30pm Cole and I left their house to go home and put him to bed. (Side note, we are switching him to one nap because he has been fighting the second nap so much, so he was having a bad evening as this was the first day doing so.) Well, I started a contraction right as we were leaving and then had 2 more on the way home which is only a few minutes. I thought they would slow down but they didn't and each one was strong. I had 2 or 3 more putting Cole to bed and then realized that they were about 3 to 5 minutes apart, strong, going on for about 30 minutes and not slowing down. Oops! Better call dad, auntie to come stay with Cole, and mom and dad to go ahead and start driving here from Austin. By the time Rick got home from work about 15 minutes after I called the contractions were definitely 3 minutes apart and about 1 minute long. I just kept walking around the house as it was the only way I could get through them they were so strong.

So long story short, Lyla was born at 10:37pm, 3 hours after my first contraction and only one contraction of pushing!!! She was 7lbs 3oz and 20 inches long. The nurse said I probably could have just pushed about the time I got the epidural. I wish she had just said that - I didn't care how the contractions stopped, I just didn't want to feel any more. Still, I love epidurals. The relief after having such intense pain is almost better than when you see your little baby. I will say that it was MUCH more bearable standing up through contractions. Laying down or sitting about kills me and I can barely make it through one. I had tried standing when I had Cole but my legs kept giving out on me. Not sure why that didn't happen this time. Rick was such a trooper - he supported me standing even though that meant he was hunched over. Poor man had such an achy back that evening. I love him for it though!

Lyla looks very similar to her big brother. She is a strong one who moves her head around a lot and she loves to be spoken to. She is a really good eater which means she goes a longer time in between feedings. I love that because that means more sleep for mommy! Lets hope this keeps up! We are leaving the hospital this morning but going to see the doctor tomorrow at some point so they can test her biliruben count again. We are doing all we can to avoid jaundice this go around. She is already showing some in her face but her levels are low enough that any action besides feedings and sunlight isn't needed.

Cole came to the hospital yesterday and did really well with Lyla. He knows the sign for baby and just kept pointing at her and signing baby. He tried to poke her eye out (that's a good sign - he loves the eyes and always tries to touch them on people or animals he is interested in). He even gave her a kiss and held her for a minute. He'll be a good big brother. Well, he did get jealous when he saw me cuddling her to calm her down. That may take a few days (or weeks) to get over.

So that's the update for now! I'll post pictures and more when we get home later!

Playing Outside

So the weather has warmed up here and Cole has been loving playing outside. We went to the park down the street one day and surprisingly all he wanted to do was walk around. He went on the swings for a little bit and climbed on the kid toys a bit but mostly just walked around and "talked" to this little 5 year old who was riding his bike around and ringing a little bell. They were so cute together.


We've played in the backyard a fair amount too. He doesn't walk too well on the straw-like grass so he mostly stays on the back porch.


Until the other day...see the bird bath in the corner. In about 2 minutes he finds it too, and here is what ensues...




The video is kind of long but so cute. I love my little boy. He really is growing too quickly. I want him to slow down now. (Okay so putting the 3 videos into one wasn't working when I'd load it to youtube so here are the 3 separate videos.)






No Lyla yet. I hadn't progressed any when I went to the doctor on Thursday afternoon - still 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. He asked if I wanted to schedule an induction on Monday, my due date, but I said no. We'll see how things go this weekend. I had random contractions Thursday night but haven't really had anything since. I go to the doctor Monday morning for another check-up. Maybe she'll be ready to come on her own then!

My Big Little Boy

So Cole's hair got ridiculously long. He last got it cut right before Christmas. It wouldn't look bad after a day or two of laying on it but it began to bother me because it would always look messy and crazy at church (after his bath and nap). So Rick took him to get his hair cut yesterday. When he came back my little baby boy was no longer a baby. Don't get me wrong - I love the clean, short cut but now he REALLY looks like a toddler instead of my little baby. He's maturing leaps and bounds everyday so I guess the haircut fits. (By the way, Cole hates his hair cut and with dad it was no different. Rick said it was very traumatic. He just squeezed his hands together and endured it after Rick said he would take a bath with him once they were done - Cole's favorite thing to do with Dad.) So now this is his new bedhead instead of the Einstein-do he used to wake up with...

And an outing with dad wouldn't be complete without dad buying him a gift. He got him a baby set of golf clubs - just 2 plastic ones that come in a case with three balls you can hit into the putting green inside the bag. I didn't think Cole would get it or like it but BOY was I wrong! This morning he used one of the clubs as his vacuum and then went and swept the kitchen floor with it. Maybe we should get him some real cleaning tools and he can help out with chores! But this is him with his clubs last night. (By the way, we painted the guest bedroom yesterday and my comments are regarding the touch ups needed. And don't worry - I just taped, Rick painted; though I did paint the entryway...)


Cole has mega hearing too. For example, this morning the TV was on, he was playing with his toys and I was talking to him. Then all the of the sudden his head pops up and he starts signing bird. Yep - a bird had begun to very faintly chirp outside at that moment. I don't know how he heard it. He had to have been listening for it - or he can hear the TV, mom and the bird all at once.

Cole definitely has favorite videos (Baby Signing Times) and now wants them on 24-7. This is how I found him the other day.


Why is he in here like this? Because he couldn't get the left door open and his signing dvds are on that side...


And boy does he get upset when I say he's had enough TV for one day! He does eat better while watching them though, and it is very hard to get him to eat well.

Here is another fun video of Cole...this is him on Sunday night playing with Daddy. As you can tell, he loves playing chase and carrying his blankie.


And finally, no baby yet. I go to the doctor again on Thursday and I'll update you then. Lyla is at least 6 pounds though so there won't be any inducing unless I want it (but I don't - though ask me again if she's still here this time next week).

Lyla Update and Cole Videos

So I went to the doctor yesterday. It was the first time meeting my doctor here in College Station. I was there a little over 2 hours as he ran a series of tests to check the health of the baby. It took so long because she wouldn't wake up to fetal breath and without that he could only be sure the baby was okay to stay in the womb 24 hours more instead of 4-5 days. So he ended up doing a non-stress test to be sure she wasn't under undo stress in the womb. Everything ended up fine, as I knew it would be but for a doctor just seeing me he wanted to check everything. I go in for an ultrasound tomorrow so they can check her weight. The doctor thinks that if she is small I might have a body that just inhibits growth within the uterus after a certain size. So if she is less than the 10th percentile he will induce either on or before my due date, otherwise we will just wait for when she wants to come. I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced which means I could be like that for weeks or she could come tonight, you just never know.

In other news, Cole is just the cutest thing on the planet. He cracks me up every day. He makes these super silly faces and fake laughs to get me to smile. Today he went on one side of his crib and looked through the bars at me on the other end then would walk around and fake laugh while bobbing his head. He thought he was a riot. He is starting to get interested in animals and their sounds and he is still addicted to Baby Signing Time. He signed "bird" today for the first time.

Here are some videos of Cole being Cole. He loves to drag things around now and his favorites, besides his blankets, are things that are not his toys but items he finds around the house.

He is SUPER speedy going down the stairs which is funny to watch...this isn't his fasted decent but still cute. :-)

And Cole loves to climb up anything...

Baby Signing & More

Cole Update:
He has been busy growing up on us since moving as well. (yep, it's only been like a week and half but he really has learned so much!) He is a walking pro - though I think his head cold threw off his balance.

For those that don't know, we have been watching "Baby Signing Time" with Cole since he was about 6 months but he didn't start signing really for a long time. These are all the signs I can think of that he knows (and I LOVE it because he usually can tell me exactly what he wants. Before he used to know the signs but didn't use them a whole lot, but since being here he is really starting to communicate using them more and pays more attention to the videos when we watch them. He likes to show me he can do them when we watch them too.

Milk
Eat/Food
Drink
Banana
Cracker (NEW! And he LOVES Goldfish crackers now too.)
Dog
Fish (NEW! Aunt Barbara has a fish on her kitchen counter and he will do the sign when seeing the Goldfish box too.)
Shoes
More (but he never says what he wants more of sadly)
Socks (not a pro at it but can do it)
Bath (still loves his baths and wants to get in one every time he sees the tub)
Cereal
Book
Brush Teeth
Wash Hands

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are others but I can't recall.

Cole is a pro at copying Dad. If dad is eating something, Cole wants to eat it, or at least try it. Like tonight - Rick was making pizza and was eating pepperoni so Cole wanted some. He put it in his mouth and decided it was not good. But after seeing dad eat another, he tried it again, but resolved in the end to just play with the bag rather than eat it. We have all been suffering through colds here and Rick has a lot of drainage that goes down his throat which he will spit out. He took Cole to the park today and Cole watched dad cough and cough and then spit, so Rick said Cole then tried to cough and spit. Oh great! That's not a habit I hope he picks up quickly!

Cole still doesn't really say any words but he makes lots of sounds - clicks his tongue, "doo doo doo", "mom mom mom" (he learned this from Rick when he calls me - this is as close to him talking as he gets. He does know how to call for me since Rick taught it to him.)

Cole and I have really, REALLY enjoyed having dad around more often now and after a Sunday and Monday with Rick here, I am in heaven. Cole still thinks dad's going to leave at any minute and is super clingy. That will settle in a couple of weeks hopefully, but by then he might be clingy just because little Lyla will be arriving.

Another funny incident that happened today - Rick picked me to up crack my back. Cole watched him do it and got the most discriminating look on his face. It was such a worried, concerned and frustrated look that Rick and I just laughed at him which made his face get more stern and then he got upset at us for laughing at him. Oh he just cracks me up!

Moving Stress!

Today we finally got internet hooked up so here's the monstrous update...Ugh, moving is so not fun...I'll get into that in a minute, but first I'd thought I'd update everyone on baby Lyla.

First of all, my dear friends gave me a baby shower/going away party last Tuesday that was SO much fun but so weird thinking I wouldn't see them as often anymore. It was so fun getting cute girlie baby clothes. I hadn't really had a minute to think about our little baby girl coming so it was fun to stop thinking about all the moving and house closing shenanigans and just enjoy being with friends and get ready for our new little one. You can see pics of the event on the Davila blog. :-) Thanks Christina!

I went to the doctor in College Station on Thursday. The doctor here is very conservative and was concerned that Cole was only 5lbs8oz at birth even though he was almost 3 weeks early. They want me to get another ultrasound to measure how big Lyla is but by feeling alone they are guessing she is already 6-6.5 lbs. I don't really see how that is going to make a difference at this stage but mostly they want to make sure everything is okay since I'm coming to their practice with only 4 weeks left (3 now). And besides, I'm not going to say no to an opportunity to see my baby girl! With Cole I had a feeling for weeks that he was wanting to come early. I don't really get that feeling with Lyla, but you never know. But this brings us an opportunity to vote on babies size and birthdate! Vote now before it's too late! (The official due date from docs is Feb 22nd (not 16th like sidebar denotes.)

Well, onto the moving...The movers came and packed us up on Thursday, January 21st which took about 4 hours and then Friday morning they loaded up the moving truck and we drove to College Station. Our Aunt and Uncle in College Station were so awesome to take Cole for us most of the time Friday and Saturday. It really helped to get things unpacked and settled in the home. We went back to Cedar Park on Sunday for church as well as a work conference Rick had through Tuesday afternoon. I was able to join Rick for his dinners Sunday and Monday night which were at Austin Country Club and the UT Golf Club respectively. Those are always fun.

Originally, we were going to sign closing papers on Tuesday or we were to stay through Wednesday to close. Well, we ended up leaving for College Station that Tuesday night as the closing on the sale of our home in Cedar Park got delayed (it's now set for this Friday, February 5th). It was delayed because the buyers are foreign nationals and they needed some special appraisal that apparently no one was aware of. I was SOOOO mad. I don't usually get angry, but I was fuming really. How could we get everything ready to close on the house in College Station in about 8 business days and they had 60 days and couldn't get it done? I just wanted all of this behind me. I was so nervous as to how the sellers of the home in College Station were going to react to hearing we would have to move our closing back because of this as well. It was just not what I needed to hear at all. But wait, it gets worse...

Monday, while back in College Station, I get a phone call from the appraiser saying the bank canceled the order. I called my dad and found out the bank the buyers were going through were now asking for $20,000 MORE to close. They were already putting down $35k so this made NO SENSE to either of us...and so near to the closing date to find this out? It was just weird. But because the buyers didn't have it they were going to have to back out of the sale of our home. Needless to say, everyone was mad. BUT - silver lining - Turns out this bank (Oasis) is the only bank in Texas who will lend to foreign nationals and basically was just seeing how much they could get out of them because they ended up negotiating down to $5k more. What??!!?? Since when do banks negotiate for a mortgage? But at least the deal is still going through and should all be done by this Friday, Feb 5th - but keep your fingers crossed just in case!

On a brighter note, we are unpacked and starting to feel like we aren't in some foreign place. Cole is loving the staircase and zips down them. I've got to get this on video for everyone. But, sorry to say, I haven't really taken any pictures lately with all the things to do in the home, it's just been the last thing I've thought of - hence this SUPER long post and no pics. Sorry!

15 Month Well Child Visit

Cole is becoming quite the walker. Last night and this morning he just walked all around, getting up each time he fell to keep walking. Today we went to see Dr. McConnell for his wellness checkup. Here are the stats: 21.5 lbs and 31.25 inches long. Definitely gaining weight well and is 50th percentile for length. Our doctor is actually leaving the practice here in Cedar Park and working closer to her home in south Austin. I would have been upset to hear this had we not been moving. Speaking of moving, the packers come tomorrow and move us on Friday. I can't believe it is here already. I've been busy getting organized, trying to get the docs needed for our closing, and prepping to leave the house - all while fighting awful allergies. Anyone who deals with them in Austin knows just what I mean. Ugh.

Mischief and Walking

So it was New Years Eve and I was cleaning in the kitchen and letting Cole play in the Tupperware cabinet. He loves that cabinet (but also loves trying to get in the cabinet under the sink too where all the cleaning supplies are for the kitchen). Well this time it went further than just pulling everything out. He decided it was time to try putting himself in it. As you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed himself!


A couple of days later, I tried getting him to walk using his push toys again (he usually just crawls behind them and pushes them). Well, this time he got it!


Two days after that Cole took his first steps. He took 3 steps in the afternoon to be exact and did not attempt it again that day. But it didn't take him long to get a handle on this walking thing. I would catch him taking a step or two but when he would see me look he would immediately sit down. I guess he is like his daddy and doesn't want to be embarrassed while trying to learn something new. We were playing one evening with the vacuum (it's a favorite non-toy of his) when all of the sudden he stands up, walks over the hoses and then proceeds to walk towards the entry. I grabbed the camera and caught all the spills as seen here.


Then he turned around to walk back to the kitchen and didn't fall once! Every morning he wakes up unsteady and unable to really take more than a step or two but by the end of the day does really well with balancing and even walking on slippery tile with socks on! I'm really not rushing this walking bit but I LOVE watching him walk. He is so careful about it all!


He is also started to squeal and scream with delight when he gets really excited. This face may look a little scary but he is tensing up and squealing with pure excitement. Funny boy. He loves sitting on Grandma's ottoman.


In other news, I decided to switch doctors to one in College Station as we are definitely planning a move on the 22nd of January. We will be back in Austin Sunday the 24th until closing on our house here on the 27th, then head back to College Station and close there on the 29th. I went to the doctor last week and everything is just fine with me and baby. I was relieved to hear that I wasn't dilated or effaced but baby is head down. I'm hoping little Lyla actually doesn't come early like Cole. More time to get situated in the new home would be GREAT!