Pumpkin cleaning

We decided to finally carve up the pumpkins for Halloween. It was quite fun to watch Jase look at the pumpkin "guts" reach in and barely touch them, and then pull his hand out really fast. He worked much better with a spoon, and some help from daddy.

Here we are cleaning the pumpkins...


You will have to wait a little longer to see the faces, and Jase and Meghan in their costumes...

Fall is here

The hot and humid summer weather is gone and the cool, crisp, sometimes rainy fall weather is here.

We made it to the Pumpkin Patch at Millenium Farms in Oxford and rode the hayride and picked out pumpkins from the field. Jase also jumped 2x in the air bouncer and rode the barrel "train" too. Jase also loved the farm animals in the petting barn. Meghan was a trooper and slept the whole time in the front carrier. We forgot the camera, but will post pictures when the pumpkins get carved up...

October has also brought us visitors in the form of Heather's Gramma and her dog Molly. We all loved having the company and Jase loved having a little dog around.

Jase has decided that on some days he doesn't want to take a nap, so he then usually falls asleep around 7:30p on the futon or in the recliner while being read to. Sometimes the next morning he is still pretty tired when waking up (or being woke up when it is Sunday), hence the pictures where Jase is asleep standing next to the chair, while eating a poptart, and asleep while getting his diaper changed. I have to admit that that Sunday at church was the best we've had (as far as a listening to the talks) in the last 2 years, as Jase wanted to be cuddled/held or laid down the whole time.

Meghan has been sleeping great the last week, only waking up once in an 8 hour period to eat. She has also started to sleep in her crib for the first shift of the night and doesn't fuss too much when put in her crib while awake but sleepy. Occasionally she will be fussy and just want to nurse constantly for 3-4 hours, so after we know she isn't hungry, wet, or cold/hot, we try to get her to be happy in the swing, bouncer, etc. The one position that always works is Joe slouching her over his arm (usually while playing computer games).

So here are some pics of the above highlights of the month so far...

Differences between siblings

I've always thought it interesting how different siblings can be. Being an only child I've never experienced this first hand, until now. With Meghan joining our family just 3 short weeks ago, it amazes me the differences I already see between her and Jase.

The four main differences include:

-Jase would cry, but it was always at an even keel, no screaming or shrieking; Meghan cries for about 30 seconds, before escalating to a scream/shriek that identifies her as being peeved about something (probably not nursing 24/7)

-Jase has always loved riding in the car, while Meghan loudly protests both short and long car rides (see above difference and think of how fun a trip to Indy would be with screaming for 30 minutes...I don't forsee a trip to Michigan anytime soon)

-Jase was a very quiet sleeper, one of the babies that you had to touch them while they were sleeping to make sure they were still breathing; not Meghan, she is the noisiest sleeping baby I have ever heard, grunting and squeaking all night long (this makes it difficult having her sleep in our bedroom)

-Jase has never (from day 1) ever slept more than 13 hours in a day; Meghan averages about 18 hours of sleep a day (granted most of this is while being held, in the car seat, or in the swing - she despises the crib and bassinet)

So, my question for all you blog readers with more than child is this: what differences do you notice between your children and how early on did you notice these differences?
Of course I'll end the post with a couple pictures of Meghan, with Joseph and Jase...

Circus Time

Joseph and Jase went to the Ringling Bros. Circus with Paul, Misty, and Ashton South. Jase got to try out his nifty backpack/child restraint which he was excited about. That was until he found out the part about the restraint. They showed up early to go down on the floor and visit with the clowns and other people from the show. It was loud and Jase was more timid than usual, refusing to sit on a motorcycle that he would otherwise love. Jase really liked the tigers, elephants, and horses. They left a little early due to being up way past their normal bedtimes, but a fun time was had by all.

Life with baby and toddler = exhausting but fun

Life with a new baby and a 2yo is wonderful, fun, and exhausting (not to mention frustrating).

Jase figured out how to climb into the crib quite fast and likes to put his toys in there and then climb up to play (I guess it is good that Meghan hasn't really started to sleep in there much so far).
Meghan likes to swing and be held and nurse all the time (I think this is the 2 week growth spurt time).
Jase loves to hold his little sister and is still quite protective when other people come near her (he actually says, while standing in front of her: "Stop, don't touch, my sister" - it is quite cute and we hope that lasts for a while...

We got some pictures taken of Meghan (and the rest of us) when she was a week old. We think they turned out quite well.

Baby Meghan arrives!

Little Meghan Anne was born at 3:07p on September 12, 2007, weighing 8lbs 8oz, and 20 inches long.

Having a scheduled c-section is really nice, because you know the day and time that the new baby will arrive. But alas, just because it is scheduled, doesn't mean that it won't be delayed (still working on that patience concept). The day before my Dr and I were joking about having a "date" scheduled (perhaps that was the first of the jinxes...). The night before Heather went to bunko and mentioned that the only way it wouldn't be at 10a, would be if there was an emergency c-section needing to be done (jinx #2).

Wednesday morning we arrived at the hospital at 9a, for the surgery scheduled for 10a. I was prepped and the baby monitored and everything looked great. We decided against taking all the bags and "stuff" into the hospital right away, since we would only be in the room for an hour at most before the baby came and then would be changing rooms (jinx #3).

Then the first delay came - my Dr had another patient ready to start pushing, so we were going to wait (about 30 minutes total) and then get started. I was fine with that, since it was only 30 minutes, not a big deal. Then during that 30 minutes, an emergency happened and so I got bumped (about 2 hours total for the surgery and then clean up of the OR). Then when that one was finished, another emergency happened and I got bumped once again. At this point I was starving and when the nusres asked if there was anything I needed, I said, " not anything I can actually be allowed to have" - ie: food and drink. So, while I was learning patience, Joseph and I decided to close the blinds, turn off the tv, and take a nap. It wasn't 10 minutes later when the nurses came and said that it was finally my turn - yeah!!!!

So I got the spinal, Joseph came back, and then a few minutes later a baby girl was born. The baby and Joseph went to the nursery, I went to recovery, and I beat them to the room by an hour. While it took us about a day to figure out a name, we decided on Meghan Anne. The hospital stay wasn't too terrible, even though all the rooms were doubled up - it was a busy time at the hospital (about 50 births over 3 days).

My recovery has been good and I already have lots of mobility, hardly any pain, no swelling, and feel really great, considering having a new baby and surgery only 4 days ago. Much better than with the first labor and c-section (I guess not being tired from 30 hours of labor helps...).

So here are the long awaited for pictures:
Jase loves being the older brother and wants her to be able to play trains with him (although I'm sure by the time she is able to play with his toys, he won't want her too anymore...). She gets lots of love and kisses from her big brother and we know that they have a great relationship growing up together.

Where did the month of August go?

So, it has been quite a while since I've done an entry, but then again, life has been pretty hectic this last 6 weeks...

Here are some highlights for the month of August and the first 2 weeks of September:

• Jase helping to cook most meals (naked with an apron on)

• Jase and Ashton playing, and Jase just plain being silly...

• Joseph and Jase going to the Indy zoo with Misty, Ashton, and Dominic
• Jase climbing on the futon and falling/tumbling off the back
• Joseph, Jase, Paul , and Ashton camping at Prophetstown (this was the first father/son camping trip)

• Jase hangin' out
• Jase naked in a basket
• Jase loving to "swim" in the bathtub
• A trip to the Children's Museum with Misty, Ashton, and Dominic
• A visit to Fair Oaks farm (the second this year) with grandpa and grandma
• Jase golfing in the front yard (right before Joseph went golfing - hope he didn't miss his tee time...)

This was the majority of the last 6 weeks. We were busy, especially the week Heather had off work before the baby was born...