Snooze Button

Just wanted to share with you the POWER of the pacifier. I call it my snooze button at night, for all you moms who need just 10 more minutes, I encourage you to invest in this! Bear with the video, its a little longer than I usually post but I wanted you all to understand the power of this wonderful product.

And I like all other mothers out there HATE it when he cries, I can literally FEEL it when he cries. Not only do I want my Michael to be soothed, but I am sick of having to change shirts every time he cries. (anyone who is a mom or watches the Office knows what I am talking about here)

enjoy

Mean, mean Parents

Michael is getting stronger everyday, he continues to use the Boppy pillow to practice is head lifts. He tends to get frustrated but doesn't give and keeps trying. Mom and Dad don't let him give up either, I'm sure there is someone out there who thinks we are MEAN MEAN parents.

Its going to be so awesome once he finally holds his head up high on his own!

Oh yeah - My apologies for the quality of this video, his Dad needs more camera man practice....no offense Dad, we still love you.

Long time Neighbors

Michael had a visit from our old neighbors this weekend Kate and Dave. They recently moved to Colorado. They were in town this weekend and were kind enough to stop by and meet Michael. We hope to go and visit them in the near future!

In Deep thought

The video says it all.

My Momma taught me, always hold your head up high.

Recently Michael has been participating in tummy time. Whether on his parents tummy or on the ever wonderful Boppy pillow, he is beginning to lift up his head to look at the world around him. He has yet to master full control of his head, but he is making progress! Additionally, he has begun to scream loudly for a brief moment, which in the beginning freaked his mother out, but now I have become used to the ranting and raving, so much so that I am left waiting for him to do it again.


We FINALLY caught his rant on video yesterday evening while he was practicing his head lifts on the Boppy. You will also notice his brother Hugo in the background sleeping, he doesn't seem to concerned with the latest development in the family. Check it out.

Big Time Bath

So the one thing that I was most terrified of I have now grown to love, bathing babies. Who knew this could be so much fun. Tonight Michael ventured into the big boy bathtub, err well more like the non sponge bath tub. He has yet to be in an actual bathtub ( of course) He was calm and collected ( as usual) in the tub. In fact Dad and I think he even liked it.

I'm sure we will have to treasure this time, I hear from many people that as boys get older they are not so fond of baths. But thats for another blog post, right now he is a gem and we simply love making sure he is squeaky clean.

More alert time!

Michael has been more alert as each day passes. It's bittersweet for mom at this point, while I love watching him, he is preventing me from getting all my chores done for the day! I find myself watching him for hours on end. Don't get me wrong its a wonderful way to spend my day but unfortunately the shopping, cleaning, laundry, and work check in doesn't take care of itself.

Many people have only seen him sleeping ( since he is pretty good at that) So I thought I would share him wide eyed and awake so all can see his baby blues, and of course marvel at his cuteness.

A birthday celebration

This weekend Michael participated in his first family birthday celebration. we all gathered at cousins Lisa & Tim's house to celebrate the birthday of Cousin Amy (13) and Grandpa Bus (99). The whole family was there to celebrate the start of teenage years and to celebrate a man who is on the cusp of completing an entire century of life. Michael is so lucky that he has gotten to meet his great grandfather bus. In honor of the old mans birthday I made him his favorite, cherry pie. The other highlight of the day was that Amy received Rock band for her birthday, later on many of the family went down to the basement to jam.

Check out the videos and pix. Rock on doods.

Clearbrook Bound

This afternoon Michael took a visit to one of his mom's favorite places Clearbrook. We got dressed in our cutest little frog outfit and were out the door!

I was so proud to show him off to all my coworkers. We sat and chatted about how life has changed since having a baby. It seemed like Michael had a good time, I know I enjoyed myself. I was so happy to see everyone at Clearbrook. Michael was held by many people and behaved accordingly. I am so lucky to have such a laid back little guy, he truly is just like his father.

After our visit he had a bath, Dad and I took a picture of how fuzzy his hair is when it is clean.

Cute as Button

It finally happened! Michael lost his the rest of his umbilical cord. In a couple of days he will have cute little belly button. His father was overjoyed to see this happen! And no folks we did NOT save the remnants, they went straight into the trash. Pretty soon he will be able to have full baths, we cant wait to play in the bath with him!

My guys

Michael did a mini photo shoot with all of his friends yesterday evening. He hasn't slept in his crib yet ( not that he could with all the stuffed animals in there!) We wanted him to remember how many people loved him even before he was born. His family and friends got him many many friends. I cant wait to see who he picks as his favorite so much fun stuff to come.

Hugo has been very patient throughout this process. Hopefully soon he will get used to having our new noisy cute little guy. But for now i think he wishes he would go back to where he came from!

Doctor - Wk 2

Michael had his 2 week checkup this afternoon. He still has 10 fingers and 10 toes whoo hoo!. He is now 6lbs 12oz ( his original birth weight) and is 19 and 3/4 inches long. He seems to have shrunk a little! No worries though we will love him big or small. He was tired after the visit and promptly passed out on Moms arm.

Sweet like honey

Everyone was a "buzz" on Sunday, as Grandma and Grandpa ( along with some friends) brought home the bees, yes folks I said bees. The work farm has inherited some new pets. Not only are the bees an interesting species to raise, they will do wondrous things for the plant and wildlife and of course produce some tasty honey for the family. They will help the fruit tress grow and flowers bloom. Mom got some footage of the bees being placed into their new homes, you will notice the fancy uniforms everyone is wearing, it is important to note that these bees are not harmful unless you hurt their Queen!Needless to say Michael stayed inside the house under the safety of the dogs. Check out the video, pay careful attention to Grandma, she is the one standing in the distance slowly backing away.

A visit

Yesterday Michael met "Uncle Dave" Tiff and Dave came over for lunch. They brought him a brand new Boppy from Tiffs Dad for mom to use downstairs. ( she keeps forgetting to bring it up with her at night) Michael hung out with Dave for a while, Hollis told Dave that if he wants him to become a Cubs fan, he will have to start early on him. We have a ton of Sox fans in our family that may get to him first!

Self soothing

Michael has recently found that sucking his fingers relaxes him. This has been very helpful for Mom and Dad during the late night hours. He clamps onto them and goes to town. The ability for him to sooth himself is essential, especially if Mom and Dad expect to get any sleep in the future. We caught him in the act yesterday and took the opportunity to video it, check it out!

Dogs & babies

This evening Michael spent some time hanging with his brother Hugo. Hugo has been very shy and careful with Michael since he has been home. However tonight he laid on the floor with us while Michael was awake. Each day that passes, Michael has become more alert which is great for mom and dad, we like to see him up and alert. Hugo seemed to enjoy it too as evidenced by his wagging tail. Check out the video.

When Lightining Strikes!

That evening a bolt of lighting struck a tree outside grandmas house. It completely distroyed the tree. There was debris all over the yard. We called the fire department and gas company because there was a fire and a gas leak. The bolt literally shook the whole house. Here is what is left of the tree. Truly an amazing feat of nature.

Easter

Easter was a success! Michael finally got to meet the rest of Moms side of the family. Everyone had a good time playing pass the baby. The Easter bunny was also generous, Michael got a new hat, some outfits and of course candy! It was so nice to be able to share him with the family, he has alot of cousins wh0 are waiting for him to grow up so they can play with him. Here is a video of him with his Aunt Lauren.

A couple of firsts

Well the first bath went well, until the end! We got him all clean and then he pooped in the towel before we could get the diaper on! It was hysterical!

His sight is also developing, he is less irriated by the bright lights and has been making some informal eye contact with mom and dad, not sure if he can see us yet but he can surely recognize our voices.

A visit from the Gorries

On Sunday March 26th many of the Gorrie clan came up to welcome the new arrival of Michael. everyone took turns holding him. Grandma Gorrie made a cake and we celebrated with cake and presents.
Tony and I were so happy that they made the trip up, we knew that we wouldnt be able to get down to Morton for a couple of weeks, so the visit was welcomed! We were glad that they got to see Michael in his first days of life!

Going Home

We were able to leave the hospital after four days. It was a cold Saturday afternoon as we packed up all of our belongings and said goodbye to the hospital staff. I still cant believe that we were actually taking Michael home with us! It was so exciting and nerve wracking at the same time! Tony drove REALLY slow the whole way home, as a new Dad I think he was a little nervous too!
Now the next task was to survive the first night and introduce him to his brother Hugo!

The Hospital

It took four days in the hospital but Michael finally arrived on March 25th at 10:53pm. I don't think there is anything that can compare to childbirth, I know that I couldn't have done it alone. The support of Tony was monumental he was a great coach I couldn't have gotten through it without him. My sister and BFF Tiff were also a tremendous help, whether it was bringing me magazines and coffee, to sitting with me trying to distract me from the contractions, I am truly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

I never knew that being a mom could be so much fun and at the same time so overwhelming. My heart goes out to all the Labor & Delivery and Mother baby nurses who helped us transition. St Alexius hospital was WONDERFUL, the staff were so patient and kind to us. I'm still in awe of the experience, it will truly be one I will never forget.

Michael had several visitors his first couple days of life. His Aunt Lauren and Grandma and Grandpa Rowan came to see him on Friday morning He also was greeted by his Aunt Tiffany who was a tremendous help to his mother while she was in the hospital. Lastly he was visited by his favorite cousins, Lisa, Amy and Katie, everyone was so happy to meet him. He was only days old and so many people already loved him, how lucky are we!