1 Month

Happy 1 Month Birthday XQP!

Xavier is a pretty mellow baby - thank goodness! With three kiddos and me recovering from surgery, not to mention just being really sleepy, I'm oh so thankful for his laid back demeanor. I'm also thankful for Gran and GranJanne's visits and excited for my sister's arrival this week and Nana and Pop Pop's visit the following week. Xavier eats and sleeps like a champ for the most part and is rarely cranky unless he's hungry, at least he has been. As Cap said yesterday, Xavier is coming out if his newborn stupor and with this new alertness we expect increased fussiness. Growing up is tough.

I swear he has also started to smile at me showing off his dimples which are usually hidden in his chubby, yummy cheeks.  "He is super duper cute!" exclaimed Addie. She and Eliza adore him and often fight over who gets to hold him in the morning. This seems sweet except it's 6:15 am and Cap and I are exhausted and pretending we can get a few more minutes of shut eye in bed.  When feeding, Xavier makes these purring inhalation noises which Eliza imitates, hhmmmm, hhmmmm, hhmmm. His eyes are turning blue too like his sisters and he has soft, fuzzy ears. Adorable.

I Heart You

Xavier is a strong baby -- and a big one! He is almost 12 pounds now putting him in the 90th percentile for weight and, at 22 inches, 75th for height.

While he's a healthy boy in general,  Xavier was born with a slight heart murmur. The cardiologist at the hospital told us if you are going to have a complication, this is a good one to have as it will probably close up on it's own. Of course we worry anyway.

This week we visited Xavier's cardiologist again. X was an excellent patient and slept through the tests. The  doctor couldn't hear the murmur anymore through the stethoscope but the echocardiogram showed a 3mm gap between his left and right ventricle. She was pleased with what she saw though and assured us that it would almost definitely close up on it's own and she didn't anticipate  any complications. Phew! We'll be back close to Xavier's first birthday for a follow up.

We sure love this little guy with all our heart.

23 Months

Why walk when you can run? Eliza always seems to be moving in fast forward. Her energy is boundless as is her affection. Eliza is intelligent, curious, affectionate, energetic and sensitive. Since returning from the hospital, Eliza will run up to me and pause, point at my tummy and say "Owie?" My Mom, who Eliza calls Dan instead of Gran, can't believe she's only turning 2 next month, not 3.

Gran heads back home tomorrow after 2 weeks of helping out with the girls, Xavier and me.  We are all going to miss her immensely, especially Addie who is going to miss baking with her. We are excited for GranJanne coming on Sunday followed by my sister in late August and Pop Pop and Nana over Labor Day week.  And we are all super duper excited that Papa Mit is moving from Pasadena to our neighborhood right across the street! Oh how we have plans for you Papa Mit!

Four Food Groups

Addie has been learning about the four food groups at school and brought this assignment home to finish. In the margins of the worksheet there were drawings of various foods, some of which she copied but many she drew from her imagination.

Can you find the cheese stick, artichoke, carrot still in the dirt with various bugs, ham sandwich, and the yogurt with spoon?

Our Family

Addie, spelling everything herself phonetically, wrote this at school when we were still in the hospital. Papa Mit and Gran were staying with the girls and got high billings here.

2 weeks

Xavier is two weeks old today. Hooray!

He's really such a sweet baby, totally mellow, and of course we think he's completely adorable too. We have been working on day/night reversal walking him up every two hours during the day with the hopes of getting 3-4 hours of continuous sleep at night. Last night was rather successful. His umbilical nubbin fell off so we are enjoying dressing him in his enormous collection of 0-3 month onesies with the anticipation that he may not fit in them much longer. He's already outgrown his newborn diapers which he never really fit in anyways. He's our big boy!

Happy two weeks X! We love you!

Adjusting

All in all, the girls are handling the arrival of their little brother rather well. Both love to hug and kiss him and pet his head which Addie has declared "as soft as a chinchilla."  While the girls were great when we were in the hospital, they definitely want to keep their parents in site now that we are home, especially their Daddy as Mommy is somewhat of an invalid. Eliza insists on being carried by Cap everywhere he goes and wails when he goes outside even for a moment.  Cap has been Super Daddy though spending as much time with them as possible including taking them for a spin on the back of his bike - a first for Eliza. She loved it. It's been an odd summer with my being enormously pregnant for the first half and then housebound for the second. It hasn't really felt like summer. Then again, maybe it's always summer in LA.  I can't believe Back to School clothes are already on the shelves in stores and that Addie will be starting kindergarten in a month.





My mom is still here with us for this week - thank goodness as she's been an immense help! She, Addie and Eliza are all bunking together, Addie enjoying the inflatable mattress. We've already kicked Xavier out of our room. He's shacked up in his bassinet in the office at night. Life in a two bedroom apartment!

Welcome Xavier!

Welcome Xavier!

Born July 26, 2011 at 7:44 in the morning
9 lbs 12 oz
21 inches


We are crazy in love with our little boy!