Tuesday, July 31, 2012

May I Have Your Attention Please

Today we have a very special birthday in the house.  Everyone please help me in wishing the Nutrition Nazi's Granny a very Happy 90th Birthday.  Over the past weekend we had a small celebration per her wishes.  I think the only thing she really wanted to do was to hold Little Pope.


And so she got exactly what she wanted!


Here we have 3 generations of crazy, just kidding...kind of, and Little Pope the 4th generation.  We are hoping to get the baby to call NN's mom (back row) Spirit  Fingers instead of Grandma!


The Team Leader always puts on weight when she stays at Spirit Fingers' house since they are A LOT more liberal with her meals, so of course she takes a quick nap beside the table just in case someone forgets to tell her that it is time to eat!


Do you play pass the baby game at your family gatherings?  I may start treating him like the prize at a cake walk.  When the music stops playing the person holding him has to take him home for the night.  That would probably cover the next month or so of nights, at least.


Here we have 3 women who will never tell this little child 'no', and two parents standing behind the camera shaking their heads at the mayhem that is coming soon.


Finally we get down to the good stuff - cake!  In my opinion dinner is a necessary chore before dessert!


Since 90 candles on a cake is nothing but a fire hazard and delay of dessert we opted for one candle for each decade.


Then we moved onto drinking games and Granny lost and had to wear this...just kidding.  She willingly put it on and wore it while holding the baby for hours, yes that's right, hours.

Have a great week and get ready to help the Nutrition Nazi kiss his 30s good-bye next week!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Herding Cats

For a couple of weeks now I have been trying to get at least one good picture of Little Pope so that I can finally get his birth announcements ordered.  I have probably taken 100 shots and deleted 90 because trying to get a good picture of a baby is like herding cats.  Something inevitably does not work out.  Let me show you some of the deleted ones first.  


By the looks of this photo my frat sister Jennifer was right on with the not 'respecting my authoritah.'


Who wants to parade this nasty look around when trying to show off their new baby?  I have no idea how he learned these looks so early on.


Sleepy is also not the look we are going for, though it is how he spends most of his days.


Doing his best Italian impersonation...you know what I'm a sayin!  


One of my personal favorites...poop patrol in the middle of pictures.  For the record she was on to something, so she is now 2 for 2. 

Moving along to sweeter things.


Safe and sound in the Nutrition Nazi's arms.


Before we could grab the camera Little Pope had actually laid his head on top of hers!


I think I'll call him mini me.


So sweet.  Ok I might be a little biased.


Our little Houdini has a new trick to show you.  He is swaddled, but propped up (sitting up) against the couch cushions.  He is doing all this on his own.  If he could talk I bet he would say I -I -I -I workout.  The Nutrition Nazi is clearly excited that he is going to be a strong little boy!

Have a great week and an even better weekend!





Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Team Leader FINALLY Earns Her Keep and the VERY Over-due Nursery Pics

It seems like time is flying by too quickly!  Brady had another check-up on Friday where we learned that he weighs 5 lbs 8 oz and is 19 inches long with still a week to go until his original due date.  It's hard to believe that he will be 6 weeks old this coming Friday.   It is still hard to comprehend some days the journey his birth has taken us on an how strong we never knew we could be for the sake of Brady!  Somebody said to me that they couldn't believe how we just jumped right in, but given no other choice we simply took it step by step together.

This week's post is a little different in that it is a hodge podge of items, which I usually try to avoid, but such is life.  Before Brady arrived early I had a whole list of posts that I wanted to do and hopefully I will get them up in between Little Pope updates.


I could never imagined how something so simple could make me so happy!


I thought that the Team Leader was being so sweet just hanging out and watching over her little brother.  Don't laugh they are siblings despite what you say. 


Then I notice the Team Leader checking him out and start to wonder what is going on.


Then it dawns on me...look at where she is sniffing.  Yep she finally proved useful.  Now if only she could change the really nasty diapers!


Warning-lots of nursery pics!  Several months ago I had plans to post the nursery transition.  Well we all know well that did not go as planned.  Here is Little Pope's big bear along with all of the stuffed animals he has received.  I spend more time telling the Team Leader that these do not belong to her more than anything else. I will probably just give up sooner or later and let her have one so that she does not feel so second place.


I actually had these up in time for the shower and it was fun to watch the ladies try and guess Brady's name since we kept it a secret until he got here.


Golf clubs that are just his size.  NN told me that he thinks Little Pope could actually use these since they are more than just a toy.  Easy there Earl Woods.


Of course when your dad, who played basketball at Rice, lists being able to still dunk a basketball at 40 as a skill, you have to have a pair or two of air jordans!


Our rocker finally got here after a few delays!


This is the sweetest little alligator and of course another set of baby-sized golf clubs.  Thanks Sam for the alligator!


One of the monkey decals over the crib.  I am hoping Brady does not get any ideas from the monkey!


The lion protector of the crib, although this lion looks like it might lick you to death before it bites you.


The biggest part of the decal, and the hardest to put up.  This tree is over seven feet tall and took three people to put on the wall.  My guess is Brady will probably peel it off the first chance he gets, scoffing at our hard work!


A friendly giraffe that is almost as tall as I am!


Last animal I promise!  We really got a whole zoo with this decal!


The whole nursery!  I had my doubts about how it would all come together, but in the end it looks really nice!  Ok so I might be a little biased!


Have a great week and try to stay dry.  Thank the Nutrition Nazi for the rain.  I forced him to wash his pig pen of a car before the baby came home and it has rained everyday since then!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Your 10:00 AM Appointment is Here Mr. Pope

Why all of sudden do I feel like my child's personal assistant?  I have heard stories about this happening to parents, but was hoping to put this off until he hit say kindergarten.  It seems now instead of shuttling to the hospital for feedings  that I run his appointment book of visitors.  He has been home for a little over a week now and has had more visitors in one week than we have in a year!

We made it through our first full week with Brady at home and there were many firsts along the way!


First accusation that I may or may not have done something with his hands.  It took a while, as you can see from the doubtful look, to convince him that the mitten cuffs were for his own benefit of keeping his hands warm, and that no I had not in fact done anything with his hands.


This week also brought Brady's first bath.  The Team Leader played the watchful big sister role very well!


To my surprise things started out well.


Then the screaming began.  I did not know that I could bathe him so fast!


Ahhh that's better!


First nap on daddy!


First pic with chubby cheeks! 


Did I mention the Team Leader and the Nutrition Nazi managed to get in some relaxation time?  Clearly the love affair between these two is still alive and well!


 First time to wear newborn-sized clothes because my 4 lb 15 oz baby outgrew the little preemie clothes  that were the only thing that previously fit.


First Eskimo kiss with mom!


So funny story about this car seat...the baby in the bassinet next to Brady projectile crapped on it while it was at the NICU.  Bailey's expression has probably only 1/10th of the shock that my face had when I heard this turn of events.  So let me back up, in order to come home Brady had to pass a car seat test where the nurse puts him in the car seat and watches his vitals for 90 minutes.  He actually did not pass the first time so they just set the empty car seat aside to try again the next day.  Apparently Brady's next door neighbor had other plans for it!


Luckily the hospital shared our shock and decided to buy us a new car seat, and gave us a loaner until the new one arrived.  They thought that the old one would probably be ok, but I likened it to someone else pooping on your clothes, then you wash them and put them back on - ewwww!  We decided to let them have the old one to use, once the fabric had been sanitized thoroughly.  Crazy story with a happy ending!  

Have a great rest of the week and don't take any crap from anyone!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Running Late - The Oreo Cake

So I had all intentions of getting the latest Brady update done by Monday morning, but sometimes things just don't work out, kind of like my 1 month old that technically should not be here for another 2 weeks!  So as a peace offering I give you one of the most requested cakes that I make.  I made this for the NICU nurses and doctors and they all loved it.  Brady's neonatologist actually made it a few days later for a party, and it was a huge hit!

You can find a printable version of the recipe here.  One short cut that I use is pre-made frosting.  The center is what really has the most flavor so when I am short on time I just open the can and layer it on.


I promise that you will not regret making this cake, and your taste buds will thank you!  I also promise to get the B update done as soon as possible.  Happy Monday!


Monday, July 2, 2012

Handsome Tiger on the Loose

This past week has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride!  Each day the neonatologist calls to update Brady's progress.  On Monday the call was good, but the doctor was reserved saying that Brady still had some work to do on learning bottle feeding and that we needed to be patient.  Tuesday I walked in after having to deal with a dead car battery to discover that Brady had an awakening and that the doctors and nurses were going to try and get him home by the weekend.  I actually had to get the doctor to verify that she was talking about my child and not another one in the pod of babies.  We were shocked because we had been led to believe that it would be a few more weeks, not days, before Brady came home.  NN and I were so excited, but had so much to do.  I think we went to Babies R Us and Target more times this past week than most people go in a year!

So it is with great joy that we are happy to say our beautiful son came home with us on Saturday afternoon!  He now weighs 4 lbs 9 oz and is 18 inches long (the length I was at full term).  I don't have any videos to post this week, but don't worry the Nutrition Nazi still tells him every other second how handsome he is or calls him tiger.  Brady probably thinks his name is Handsome Tiger at this point!


Last supper at the NICU!!!!


Last wearing of the awesome yellow NICU gowns.  Definitely not going to miss these wonderful fashion statements!


Brady had an awesome primary nurse, Tanya, while he was in NICU 2.  We never worried when we knew that she was working.  She went above and beyond taking care of our little one.  Though we are glad he is home, we are a little sad that our time with her is over.  Thanks Tanya for making our time in NICU a great one!


Safely snuggled in for his first car ride!


We were so happy he was home that I ordered a banner!


The Team Leader was so excited her little brother was home.  I am guessing she can't wait to teach him how to get her treats!


My mother-in-law became known as Spirit Fingers in the NICU because she always walked in with her hands up like she was going to do a jazz routine because she was so excited.  She says it looks like he is telling her 'Calm it down Spirit Fingers' in this picture!


He has no idea, but he will probably never hear the word 'No' from these two!  It's good to be the only grandchild!

Thank you to everyone for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.  We are so blessed to have so many people that care about our family!  Have a wonderful week and a safe 4th of July!