One Month Old

Aaron Matthew is one month old today!  He had a check-up today and everything looked great.  He is 22.25" long (76th percentile), has a 38 cm head (50th percentile) and weighs a whopping 10.2 pounds (60th percentile).  He is the size that Connor was at 2 months (at one month Connor was 7 pounds, 11 onuces and 22" long - the size Aaron was when he was born)!  He is very alert now and has started batting at his toys and gripping our fingers and his lovey.  He eats every 3 hours during the day and goes about 4 four hours overnight.  His skin is still very fair, and it looks like he may end up with blue eyes.  He still has all of the thin blond hair that he had when he was born!  He is still battling reflux, and we are praying that the prevacid gives him some more relief soon.  Connor loves to help us with him and share his toys with his little brother.  We can't imagine our lives without Aaron, and we are so thankful that God blessed us with a healthy baby boy!

How is Connor Adjusting?

The second thing everyone asks me (after "how are you doing?") is always, "how is Connor adjusting to Aaron?"  We are so blessed to have soooo many people who love Connor - his Sunday School teachers and our church friends, our neighbors, my lacrosse players and their families, and our Navy friends - and who truly care about our little man.  All things considered, he is doing well with the transition to life as a big brother.  He has acted out a few times, but nothing out of the ordinary for a 2-year-old who is cutting his molars!  We have really tried to keep his schedule as consistent as possible and to spend one-on-one time just with him when we can.  It's tough for him to understand why I can't get in the pool yet with him and why we can't do some of the things we did before Aaron came along (like play outside when it's really hot and sunny).  He's been a little more clingy to me than normal, especially at night and at nap, when he insists on rocking with me for a few minutes.  I am glad to get a few cuddles from him, since he is usually going a zillion miles an hour.

Connor has a very sweet spirit and we can tell that he already loves his brother.  He always asks if he can kiss baby and hug baby.  He loves to help us feed baby his bottle and burp him.  He always wants to know where Aaron is...he always asks, "and baby Aaron too?" and "where baby Aaron?"  He likes to point out things like the dirt piles, diggers, choo choo tracks, and moo's, to Aaron when we drive in the car.  He asks if we can "put baby down?" to play with him on the floor.  He likes to distinguish between things that big boys can do and things that are just for babies.  He insists on giving us one of his two identical sailor dog loveys every night at bedtime so we can give it to Aaron (he just requires that both be in his bed first, then he selects one for Aaron).  He also loves to put toys in the swing and pack and play for Aaron (see photo below) and help us put Aaron's paci ("micey") in his mouth.  So, to answer the question, Connor is adjusting well and we know his relationship with his baby brother will just continue to grow stronger over time.  We are so blessed by our sweet little boys!

Connor's new trick - drinking the "mook" out of his cereal bowl when he's finished all of the cheerios!

Connor always makes sure Aaron has plenty of toys.  Here, he has shared his favorite oven mitt, his zebra mask, a puppy dog lovey, and an orange matchbox car with Aaron.  Don't worry - I made sure his face wasn't covered with Connor's treasures!

Swing and Bouncy

Aaron loves sitting in his swing and observing the world around him, and he also naps in it.  It is a lot more comfortable for him than being on his back due to his reflux.  He usually snuggles in it with his puppy dog lovey (and any other treasures Connor decides that he needs!).  For the past few days, I have been putting him in his bouncy seat for his "playtime."  Tonight he sat in it while Connor and I ate dinner and while I gave Connor a bath.  He's usually comfortable in it for about 10-15 minutes before he wants to be cuddled again. 

Zebra!

Connor got this zerba mask at his buddy Brendan's 2-year-old birthday party this weekend.  He loves to put it on and say, "hi zebra," then take it off and say, "hi Connor."  It cracks him up everytime!  This was the only photo I managed to snap since this little zebra is very fast!

Aaron's Visitors

Over the past month, we have been blessed by so many Navy, church, and neighborhood friends who have come to visit Aaron (and bring a meal for his tired mom and dad!).  Here are photos of some of our many visitors - I apologize for not having a photo of everyone, but sometimes Aaron wasn't too cooperative!  We are so thankful for our sweet friends!

Caryn, Christiana, and "Acassa" (Alyssa, Connor's sitter and best buddy) Greenert.  We love this family!

Kristen Hager, our dear friend from Chris's first VP-16 tour and our neighbor in Norfolk and here in Jax!

Our neighbors and fellow P-3 family, the Primozics. 

Chad, Emily, and "Baby Choo-Choo" (Connor's friend Thomas) Coursey!  Friends since USNA and reunited with us on VINSON.

September Wilkerson, VINSON / P-3 friend and our neighbor in Jax!

Nate Gammache, VP-30 Pre-DH with Chris.

Visit from the Purcells

Chris's parents, whom Connor has taken to calling "Poppy and Gamma," visited us from July 12th to July 20th .  They were a huge help to us.  They took Connor on all sorts of adventures:  to the zoo, to ride the train at the mall, to the MOSH (Aaron and I went too!), to his MyGym classes, to feed the ducks, and to Panera for bagels and Yobe for frozen yogurt.  Connor learned the words "strawberry" and "chocolate" while eating frozen yogurt with them!  They also spent lots of time reading, playing trains, wrestling, playing basketball, and playing in the playroom at our house.  Meemaw also cooked ribs for us, which Connor gobbled up.  We don't have a ton of photos from their visit but here are a few!

Connor loves the zoo!  He insisted on riding the carousel twice!

Riding the train at the mall.

Classes at MyGym.

Meemaw and her newest grandson.

Playing on the swingset...Connor's favorite!

Knocking the flowers off the tree and laughing as they fly into the air.

Papa and Aaron take a nap.

Cuddled on Meemaw's shoulder.

The Purcell men.

Hands and Feet

I am so in love with these two little boys!  It's awesome.

Connor Joseph - June 4th, 2009

Aaron Matthew - June 28th, 2011

Aaron Matthew - Three Weeks Old

Aaron has grown and changed a lot this week.  He is much more alert, he bats at his hanging toys with his hands, his grip is much stronger, and he has started to fill out a lot.  This week, he smiled for the first time as well.  He has been to the pediatrician two more times - for his two week check-up, then today because he has had the same symptoms of reflux that Connor exhibited at three weeks old.  Last Tuesday, he weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 21.75 inches long.  Today, he weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds, 1 ounce (42nd percentile) and was 22 inches long (77th percentile).  That was Connor's size at six weeks!  The doctor was pleased with his weight gain but put him on Prevacid to see if it helps his reflux.  He is nursing better (although it's still a slow process) and sleeping for 2 4-hour stretches at night.  We cannot believe how much he has grown and changed in such a short time, and we are thankful that he is healthy and strong!