Christmas at the Cabin

We were very fortunate this year to spend Christmas in Greer, AZ with Bubby and Huny (Josh's dad and step mom). They rented a cabin for a week and we spent the entire week with them.

We drove up in the morning on the 21st. There was a large snow storm the day before and it was still snowing as we drove up. It took us considerably longer than the projected four hours. Josh pulled over along the way to help a woman who spun out on the ice and we stopped for lunch and coffee along the way.

It was starting to get dark when we pulled into Greer and had found out that we need four wheel drive to get up to our cabin, which none of us had. We were real fortunate and were able to get a ride by the lodge staff. Silas was so excited by the snow on the ground, but it was too late to play.

Josh's step brother Kevin came up on Sunday with his quad and we relied on that all week to get us up and down the hill we were staying up on. He just dropped off some things and had to go back to Phoenix until Christmas Eve. We never did get our cars up, although when Kevin came back up he was able to pull in at the bottom of the long driveway.

Josh's other step brother, BJ, his fiance Desiree and our nephew William came up with Kevin mid afternoon on Christmas Eve. Silas was happy to have William to play with, even though he is 15 years older than he is.

Most of our trip was spent playing scrabble, reading or playing out in the snow. Bubby, Silas and I made a gingerbread train one afternoon and Josh and I took Silas sledding another. Josh and I rode the quad down a few time to try out some of the local dinning.

Christmas day the boys opened up their Christmas gifts and Silas was pretty much inseparable from his Lego cars and Pop the Pig game. Declan seemed to enjoy his teething toys too. Huny and I made ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and drop biscuits for dinner and it was like having a little piece of home.

The entire week was very relaxed and laid back. We had such a great time away and were really sad to leave at the end of the week, but it was nice to be back home too.

A sample of our cabin life...

Christmas pictures

Back at work

I've been at work for a week now. I have to say that it's not horrible, but I miss my boys so much.

I'm so thankful that I was able to spend three full months at home to take care of Declan and spend time with Silas. We are even more thankful to the grandparents, who are taking care of both boys while we work. It would be so much harder if we had to do this and have the boys with strangers or at the very least with people that we didn't know as well.

The boys seem to be fine with the new arrangements. The first day was by far the hardest, but it makes me appreciate the time we have together when I'm not at work. The snuggles and cuddles are even more special, dinner and reading books with Silas more fun, the multiple wake up times are still hard, but valuable minutes with Declan that I wouldn't have otherwise.

I wish I could be at home with them, but even though I can't be I know they are loved and being well cared for.

I only have to get through this next week and then we'll be spending two wonderful weeks together while on Christmas break. We are really looking forward to it and hoping there will be snow while we are up in Greer. Even though Declan won't be able to appreciate his first snow, I'm sure Silas will enjoy it for them both.

Declan is 3 months old!

Declan is 3 months old! How can my little baby be so big already!! 

He is very interested in everything now. He is grasping and grabbing at things with purpose and intent.

He is also drooling like crazy. I don't ever recall Silas being as drooly as Declan is. 

Now that Declan is a little bigger I can see some distinct differences in my two boys. They share some features, but I think Declan will be a little smaller and a bit darker in the hair, which is is still hanging on to! I'm amazed at the amount of hair he still has.

Zoo Lights

We went to Zoo Lights with Huny and Bubby! 

Declan was actually wide awake for most of the evening.

I think he really enjoyed all of the bright lights and the hustle and bustle. It wasn't too busy being a week night and day before Thanksgiving.

Silas enjoyed some popcorn with his Buddy, Bubby.

I'm pretty sure Bubby enjoyed the popcorn too. 

The boys had their pictures taken with Santa Clause. Declan was pretty chilled out about it, but we'll see how he reacts next year!
We saw lots of cool lights. Silas keeps asking to go back, so I'm sure we'll make another trip soon enough.

Visiting the cousins

We went to visit my sister Andi in California! My sister, brother-in-law, and their triplets moved to China Lake in Ridgecrest, CA back in October. John is in the Navy and his orders moved them to the middle of the Californian desert.

My mom went with me to help me with my boys and to visit my sister and her boys. Josh couldn't come with us because he had a work trip to Minnesota.

Silas did really well on the long car ride. We made several stops so he could use the potty and get out and stretch his legs. 

Declan slept almost the entire way. We woke him up to eat at lunch and then he got fussy about a few hours outside of Ridgecrest. 

Aunt Andi was so happy to see her nephews. She took us to dinner at the local pizza place before taking us on base. 

Can you tell that Silas missed his cousins? He was so happy to see them again. He still can't call them by the right names, but for now "the cousins" seems to work alright. 

Declan could't get enough of Uncle John. He gave him all the smiles.

We had an early Thanksgiving with my sister while we were there. We made a quick run to the local k-mart and the commissary to get the essentials, but it poured almost the entire time we were visiting so we spent a lot of time just playing with the babies and watching movies together. 

It got super cold while we were there too, so all the babies got bundled up in warm sleep sacks.

It's been a long time since I held all three of them together. They are so much bigger than they were in the NICU.

We had a lot of fun hanging out with Aunt Andi and Uncle John. We drove back home and both boys slept until we reached Palm Springs, which is about half way home and then again until we stopped in Blythe. Unfortunately the very last leg was when Declan decided he was unhappy in the car and screamed the last 20 minutes home. 

Even after spending most of the week with us, Mema offered to watch the boys for a few hours while Josh took me to see Catching Fire. It was nice to see my husband after not seeing him for most of the week. 

Brothers

Are these two not the cutest brothers, ever?

Tomorrow I embark on a roadtrip with the boys and my mom! Lucky Josh gets to stay behind and work. I hope to have lots of pictures of the boys with their cousins. I wonder how much they have changed since we were last all together. The cuteness will over flow I'm sure!

Two Months Old

Declan is two months old!

 We had Declan's two month appointment today as well. He weighs 10 lbs 10 oz (13th percentile), 23 inches long (51st percentile) and has a 16 inch noggin (95th percentile). 

I compared it to Silas' two month appointment and he was over 12 pounds and 25 inches long. Declan is a little smaller than his older brother was, but I'm sure he'll catch up soon! 

Speaking of comparisons, Silas is on the left and Declan is on the right. Declan totally has more hair than Silas did at this age. He also isn't a huge fan of the pacifier. 

A few pictures of Declan from the last month. I feel like he's been far more alert this month than he was last month. I love how his little personality is showing. He is so interested in the world around him! I can't wait to see him grow this next month. I'm going to soak it up as much as I can since I go back to work right after he turns 3 months. I'm already a little bummed by the thought of it. I love being at home with my little guys! 

Declan gets baptized!

Today we baptized Declan! 

We had a lot of family come and celebrate with us a church. 

Father Poulson was able to baptize Declan, which is special because he also baptized Silas.

Declan screamed throughout the entire ceremony, and finally calmed down once we were back in the pews and had a full belly.

Rusty and my friend Mary Beth were God Parents (so are my cousins Heather and Luke, but they were out of town).

We are so happy to have both the boys baptized in our church. We couldn't feel more proud! 

Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Silas and Declan both dressed up as super heros this year.

Declan was Superman

He was pretty tired of my picture taking! 

Silas went as Captain America

He picked out his costume all by himself.

We went trick or treating with our friends the Frauenthal's. Evan was a dragon. 

Silas gave up on holding his bucket about half way through the night. We spent about a hour trick or treating. I was surprised by the lack of houses that participated in our neighborhood. We still managed to go through nearly 5 bags of candy though. 

When we got home Silas helped Josh pass out candy. He enjoyed giving as much as he did receiving. 

Tracheomalacia

Declan had a weight check on Monday. We are so excited to share that he's finally gained a pound over his birth weight at 9lbs 10oz. If you calculate his loss he's gained two pounds. That averages out to be about 6oz a week. We hope that his weight continues to rise.

With his weight gain he has finally out grown his newborn clothing. I'll be packing that up and putting it to the side for another family member until we find out what the gender of their baby to be is. It's bitter sweet to see these tiny clothes not fit our little man anymore, but we are celebrating the fact that he is growing.

Since he was born Declan has made squeaky noises when he gets worked up and eats. We thought it was just because he was a c-section baby, since they don't have the fluids expelled from their chest naturally like during a vaginal birth. When it didn't go away we thought maybe it was just narrow airways.

At his last appointment his doctor expressed concern and checked to make sure his lungs were clear and when they were she listened to him while he ate and determined he has something called tracheomalacia, which is basically a floppy trachea. She doesn't think it's very severe because he doesn't have a problem with reflux or aspiration when he eats, so she wants to monitor him for now. We were given directions to keep him inclined when he eats, using a slow flow nipple, and allowing him small breaks while eating when we supplement using a bottle. We also need to pay attention so he doesn't choke afterwards or turn blue, which could indicate it's becoming more serious.

The supplemental feeding instructions is very similar to how my triplet nephews had to be fed, so we've had some practice. The good news is that he should out grow it before he is two. If for some reason it gets more sever then the pediatrician will order a swallow study. That could impact our breastfeeding relationship, but we are not focusing on that right now. At least we know why he makes so much noise and can be aware of his condition.

On the farm

Friday we went to a local farm with one of my mom groups.

We were able to pick our own vegetables, walk through the corn maze, ride the tractor train, and pick out our very own pumpkin. Silas really enjoyed being around the kiddos his own age and I enjoyed talking to other mommies. Declan even seemed to enjoy himself.

We bought some yummy farm products too. We got two types of salsas, preserves, candies, and another pumpkin. Fortunately Uncle Russ offered to carve the pumpkins for us this year. I couldn't imagine trying to do all that work with both littles around!

Declan's newborn photos

We received our beautiful new born photos from our friend Suzanne. We are thrilled with how they turned out.

I finished creating Declan's birth announcements and hopefully those will arrive soon, so that I can mail them out. I feel like I was much more with it after Silas was born. 

Declan has grown out of his newborn clothes already. I went to dress him yesterday and all of the shoulders were stretched down because of his long torso. He is officially in his 0-3 month size outfits and gaining weight. We went to a breastfeeding clinic last week and he was 9lbs 2oz. I'm looking forward to his appointment on Monday to see how much more he has gained.

We are having him baptized on November 3rd at our church. It's All Saint's weekend, which is the same weekend we had Silas baptized. We are very much looking forward to his baptism and the small get together we'll have here at the house afterwards. I think we'll do ice cream cake and small snacks.

Silas has been such a very good big brother. He has been helping me around the house and with his brother. Every morning he runs into the bedroom and tells me good morning and gives his brother kisses. When Declan cries Silas runs to his side and determines if he is just fussing or if he is sad or mad. I love the relationship he is forming with his brother already.It's everything I hoped it would be and I hope it continues as they get older. 

One Month Old

Declan is one month old!

I am in disbelief that he is already a month old. I remember it going by quickly with Silas, but not this quick! Before I know it I'll be back at work and away from my precious boys for most of the day again.

I'm not happy about having to go back to work in December, but I'm going to try not to think about it for the next two months.

Out of curiosity I decided to do a comparison of Silas and Declan. I was surprised to see how similar they look!

Silas is on the left and Declan is on the right. There is a huge similarity, but Declan's lips and nose are shaped just slightly different and Declan does not have a birth mark that I can tell. No doubt that they are brothers though!

I've noticed already that I'm falling behind in the picture department. We took tons of pictures of Silas. I'm trying to keep up with pictures for Declan, but I think I'm failing in the department already.

I did compile a few pictures of him in the last month, but he is mostly sleeping in all of them, which is about par for this age. I do wish he would sleep more at night and be awake more during the day. I have to say though, I am so thankful for the mom friend who loaned us the use of her rock n play, which is the yellow bassinet like item. Declan sleeps really well in it. Unfortunately we found out our swing is broken and that was our go to item for Silas. We accidentally left batteries in the swing when we stored it and they exploded and corroded the electric panel in the swing.

Happy one month, Declan! 

Davis Family Pictures

This week my brother in law came into town to move my sister and nephews back to California. I knew this was going to happen, but I am not handling it very well at all. My sister and I have become much closer after the birth of our babies and it's hard to seem them leave us. 

We decided to have some pictures taken of the family before they left. Four infants and a toddler is quite comical. The photographer seemed a little annoyed with us by the end of the evening, but she managed to get some decent pictures of us all. 

They've been posted on facebook, but for prosperity here they are...

Family pictures

Mema and Papa' grandboys (and Russ)

The Tuckers

The Willinghams

Hopefully I'll have Declan's newborn photos soon and I'll post those. I also need to put together Declan's birth announcements and get those mailed out. I feel like I was more on top of things with Silas and had his done, addressed, and mailed before he was one month old. Declan turns one month tomorrow. I am having a difficult time wrapping my brain around that as well. Things are taking me longer this time around and I'm trying to get adjusted to letting my expectations be a little less grand than I'm use to. I'm sure it will come together in due time. It's just hard to let things go.