Edison's Edition (3 Months)

Weight: 15 pounds, 10 ounces
Length: 26 inches

This kid is growing like a weed! He is growing up so fast. He is the king of facial expressions. He can give an evil eye and Alex is a frequent recipient of it. He is such a precious baby though. He is getting happier (or maybe we are getting more patient or going deaf). He doesn't get as many pictures taken of him as Alex does. If I take a picture of Alex, I know someone is watching Alex. If I take a picture of Edison, meanwhile Alex is going to kamikaze jump off the couch onto (not enough) pillows. It's simply a matter that it is safer to photograph Alex. But that does not take away from my love for Edison. He becomes cuter every day. I love that he always saves his biggest smiles for me.

He looks crazy when he's falling asleep.

He loves his carseat. Such a strange boy.

He loves being outside, as long as it isn't windy.

Chunk.



Shopping is fun!



Hey now! No fighting!

Four cute legs.

He gets lots of snuggles.

Two very cute boys.

Smile!

"Delicious fingers..."

"...Oh, is it picture time?"

"Well then I guess I will sit here looking studly."

Tummy time on Daddy.

Unhappy time.

Getting ready to laugh! (6/23)

Tummy time with Alex.

He likes his outfits to match his underwear.

Whoopsies.

He woke up with a weird burn by his eye one day.

Playing in the grass.

"Who wants to see my belly?"

Alex makes tummy time better.

Hugs and kisses!

My brother.

 
 Party on the floor! Grab a blanket!


He talks and stuff.



Grandma Neil made him laugh for the first time! Daddy heard it for the first time tonight!


Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:
He...
...always has his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
...loves when we sing to him or have classical music playing.
...is super drooly.
...sleeps 8-10 hours every night.
...wears me out! When I play Peek-a-Boo with him, I keep my eyes covered longer than necessary because I am so tired.
...tries sitting up/leaning forward when he is reclined.
...has some very delectable cheeks.
...loves mobiles or anything dangling about his head.
...has highs and lows. He can get riled up very quickly and then suddenly be grinning.

Nursing, take 2

TMI found below.

Breastfeeding this time has been completely different than nursing Alex. Edison was pro at it from the start. It took a few minutes to get him to latch on, but I was more patient because I knew how it was supposed to work.

After a few days of nursing, I noticed my nipples were starting to separate a little. I tried to make sure Edison always had an excellent latch (which he did). About four days post-partum, I would be bawling just trying to get up the courage to put him on. He would try to latch and I would shrink away from him. This would make him start screaming. It usually went on for about 15 minutes before I sucked it up and put him on. Then the rest of the time I would be flinching and crying, clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut.

Luckily, Edison is a very efficient eater. For the first three-and-a-half weeks, I only had to nurse him on one side for about 10 minutes. He would fall asleep and even if we woke him up to keep eating, he wouldn't eat anymore; he was full! Since only one nipple was separating, I was able to nurse two feedings on the good side and then one on the bad side in order to give it more time to heal. After that, he started acting hungry even after 15-20 minutes on one side so I had to start switching him. This was really difficult for me because it meant the sore side would have to be nursed on each feeding.

I would sit and put my knee behind his head so he wouldn't try to come off and on or try to pull away at all. It helped a little.

He would nurse every 2-4 hours during the day for the first month. At night he would go a few hours longer. We only swaddle him at night. I want him to eat as much as he wants during the day so he will be full and not need to eat as much at night.

I spent so much time crying while nursing that my milk started to let down when I would start to cry. It started getting better at three weeks. At that point I was able to put him on without crying. It only became difficult at night as I was sore from nursing throughout the day and my milk supplies were low.

I have noticed that I don't mind leaving activities to nurse as much as I did with Alex. It used to really bother me and I always felt like I was missing out on something. It may be that Edison is a faster eater so I don't have to be gone as long. With Alex, I could have been gone for up to an hour.

When Edison was six weeks old, I noticed I was starting to heal. I didn't think it was going to heal and I was quite pleased that I was looking normal again.  I think it was the gel pads that helped the most. It probably also helped that this is when Edison started sleeping 8-10 hours each night. Love that kid.

As hard as it was physically to nurse Edison, it was a cinch mentally. Nursing Alex was so emotional and the nipple shield made me feel inadequate. I am so happy to be doing this the normal way. It is really nice to not have to worry about having the shield with me at all times. Nursing makes me happy.

Thirty. I am serious.

Sam and I are not even in the same decade anymore. That's right, my husband is officially an old man: 30 years old. He is an amazing person and I am lucky to call him mine. He is so helpful with the boys. He almost always does the dishes. He is a great comforter. He is my husband, friend, and teammate. He is a kid at heart. Oh yeah, and he is so handsome. I love him.

Early May

I am a little behind. These things happened at the beginning of May.

We went out to dinner for our anniversary; it was really low-key. We went all-out on our wedding day and it was exhausting. So to commemorate the day, we slowed the celebrations way down. The restaurant was almost empty so we weren't people-watching, we were just talking. It was awesome. I loved being able to order something without considering if Alex would eat it or not. It was just the two of us at the table (and Edison asleep in his carseat underneath the table). 

Our very last playgroup in Ithaca was at the ScienCenter. Alex loved it, as usual. I didn't try to take him around the whole place this time. I let him play wherever he wanted, which meant he played in the water almost the entire time. We didn't even go upstairs!

Slope Day is a Cornell tradition to celebrate the end of the year. We didn't go to the Nelly concert but we did go to Sam's friend's house for a barbecue! It was a beautiful day and I got to meet new people and visit with old friends. Alex had a blast playing outside for a few hours and I enjoyed sitting in the grass while other people played with him for a few hours!

Father's Day

Dads are such special people. I realize more and more how they cannot be replaced. Growing up, I learned which parent to ask for permission based on what I was seeking to do. If I ever need a cheesy joke, I can go to my dad. If I need a solution to anything computer related, I can ask my dad. If I need a gospel viewpoint on something that I never would have seen from that perspective, that's where my dad comes in. He is awesome. Scruffy chin, lawnmower smell, farmer's tan. My dad's got it all!

Sam can make Alex laugh hysterically. He can get him laughing so hard that his body curls up in a little ball. It is Alex's favorite part of the day when he hears Daddy getting home. He sprints through the house to meet him at the door. Every time he sees a picture of Sam, he points and says, "Dadda! Dadda!" until I confirm that it is Daddy but he is not home right now. Bummed.

Edison already loves Sam, too. Edison spends many happy hours playing with Sam. But Sam is different to Edison than he was with Alex, even at this age. He is more gentle and soothing to Edison. He reads Edison's mood and is able to comfort or play in the needed way.

Today might as well have been Man Day. Alex and Edison gifted their Daddy with a barbecue, grilling tools, charcoal, and a tie card. Mommy had to balance it out by giving him flowers.
Happy Father's Day!

Awk Doc

I can't believe I just wrote the word "Awk." I think shortening words is ridic and it's annoying how so many people do it these days. It's so not my fav.

I wish I had recorded this story earlier. I have forgotten many details. I did share the story with Sam the day it happened so we will do our best to recreate it here.

I had an OBGYN appointment two weeks after Edison was born. This is unusual and the only reason I had the appointment was due to the third degree tearing I experienced. Sam was out of town and Kristen was watching Alex so I only had to take Edison to the appointment with me.

After sitting in the waiting room for a few minutes, the nurse took me back to an exam room. She asked if I was there for an *incision check and I said, "Yes." She gave me a routine post-partum depression test and left the room. She came back in the room, I handed her the test, and she said the doctor would be right in (keep in mind that my doctor did not deliver Edison). I thought that was weird since I hadn't been given a robe and asked to undress from the waist down. I decided to just wait until the doctor came in because maybe he wanted to talk about the post partum depression test results.

The doctor walked in and asked me to hop up on the table. I asked if I needed to undress. He said, "No, just sit up here and I'll show you." I gave him a weird face. But okey dokey, he's the doctor. So I laid down on the table and he told me to unbutton my pants and pull them down a little bit. I asked if I was going to roll onto my side or something. I could not figure out how this was going to work. I unbuttoned my pants and he pulled them to the side and then the other side. He was frantically looking around my belly. Then he went and looked at the chart and I realized what was going on. I said, "I delivered vaginally." He was so embarrassed. He grabbed a robe, handed it to me, and quickly left the room. I could tell he was really embarrassed.

I started undressing, and about ten seconds later, the doctor walked back in! He gave me hardly any time! I quickly covered myself (what's the point? He was about to see everything anyway) and asked him to come back in a minute. When he finally came back, he sent the nurse in the room first. We laughed about what had happened and he said, "I wondered why you were looking at me so weird." And I thought, "I wondered how you were planning to examine my stitches through my belly button."

At my six week post-partum checkup, the nurse practitioner gave me very little time to undress and walked in as I was standing right in front of the door with no pants on. Maybe it was a good thing we moved away. I had too many awkward experiences with that doctor.

*Although I was there for my stitches to be checked, for some reason this office calls both things "Incision checks." A separation of terms could probably help reduce some awkward moments.

Memory Fades

I guess this is what I have to look forward to in a few years. Sheldon and Michelle have lost their minds. But it made my day and I can't stop snickering about it. Memories may fade, but love doesn't. So it is still a great anniversary. Happy day!

Edison's Baby Blessing Weekend

We were lucky to have two of Sam's sisters and their families come to Ithaca for Edison's baby blessing. It is a long drive from Columbus and we were happy to see them.

With the Bardsleys, we went to Ithaca Falls. The rest of the family went there when they came for Alex's blessing but the Bardsleys hadn't arrived yet. This is, by far, my favorite waterfall in or around Ithaca. Spencer taught Alex how to skip throw rocks into the water and Alex was going crazy with it. He now tries to throw rocks into every body of water we see.

When the Warnicks arrived, we went and played at the park since the kids had been cooped up in the car all day.

I am so sad we didn't get a picture of our whole family in Sunday clothes. When we got home, Alex was stripped so he could eat lunch and then he took a nap. We took these pictures while he was sleeping.

The actual blessing was beautiful. Sam didn't even try changing Edison's name! (Basically) Sam prayed for Edison to prepare himself to serve a mission, know that his family loves him, and be able to find a good wife and career when the time comes.

We are so glad we have good friends who were there to bless Edison. We had them over that night for banana splits. The McAllisters and DeGraffs are both MILR families as well. The Sheranians were not able to make it that night.

Potty Mouth

Alex has a foul mouth. People ask us what he is saying or look at us funny all the time. The bad part is that he gets so excited about horses and trucks that he usually yells the words repeatedly. I asked him to say, "Horse" and "Truck" just for this video so it isn't quite as enthusiastic as usual. Imagine pointing and yelling.

Siblings

I have the coolest family ever. The more I learn about other families, the more convinced I am that mine is the coolest. Seriously. I love bragging about my family and their awesomeness. Currently, I have three siblings who are having really exciting times in their lives!

First, Michelle! Holy smokes, she is a sexy pregnant woman! Look at her! She is 18 weeks along right now. That little belly is adorable.

Second, Matthew! I followed the MLB draft online for about seven hours over two days and when I finally heard his name, I couldn't believe it! He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 29th round and is moving to Florida this Friday! I am still giddy. I am so proud of him and happy that his dream is coming true!

Third, Jared! He graduated from high school last month! He had the highest GPA in his class but because he was homeschooled during 9th grade, he wasn't ranked. He prefers to be Number Zero. He was accepted to Google's Computer Science Summer Institute and he will be going to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California for a three week program before attending BYU in the fall.

Wow, aren't they great?! And they're cute to boot. Aww, I love them.

P.S. My other siblings are pretty sweet, too. I guess they just need to step up their games before I write a post in their honors.